


Meet Me in the Middle of the Day

by benvoliotheorphan, pocketsquid



Series: Meet Me [1]
Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games), The Transformers (IDW Generation One)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cheesy, Crossover, Crossover Pairings, F/M, Fluff, Holoforms (Transformers), Ignores Lost Light, Love at First Sight, Romance, Secret Identity, Some adult language, Suggestive Themes, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Written Pre-Kingdom Hearts III, Xeno
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:33:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 45,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26051191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/benvoliotheorphan/pseuds/benvoliotheorphan, https://archiveofourown.org/users/pocketsquid/pseuds/pocketsquid
Summary: When Rodimus decided it was time for the Lost Light's shore leave, he had only hoped that he and his crew would finally get a chance to relax. His plans quickly change once he literally falls head over heels for the most beautiful human he's ever seen - she snags his spark like no one has before, and he can't believe his luck when she seems to return his interest.Aqua's own vacation with her friends gets turned upside down when she catches the eye of the handsome starship captain. He seems more than willing to get to know her better despite her poor first impression, and she finds herself hopelessly drawn to his charming ways. With the encouragement of her friends, Aqua decides to take a chance and try something new.(This fic takes place a few years after KH3 and sometime vaguely before Lost Light. It was written before KH3 came out and without any regard to Lost Light, so there are no spoilers for either series. It's meant to be read alongsideMeet Me in the Middle of the Night, but can also be read on its own.)
Relationships: Aqua & Terra & Ventus (Kingdom Hearts), Aqua/Rodimus, Drift | Deadlock & Rodimus | Rodimus Prime, Drift/Terra (background)
Series: Meet Me [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1891117
Kudos: 13





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Thank you for clicking on our fic for crackships that we came up with a few years back! As stated in the summary, this fic is meant to be read alongside _Meet Me in the Middle of the Night_. 
> 
> Shout out to our dear friend who was kind enough to be our beta reader for this project!
> 
> Thanks again for reading, and we hope you enjoy!

It was the first day of the Lost Light's shore leave. Many among the crew were on the surface today, taking their vacation time as soon as the ship landed. The planet they had chosen was a well-known hot spot for tourists, coveted for the lovely tropical weather provided by two suns, the beautiful beaches, and the warm, welcoming locals.

The friendliness was not extended to Cybertronians for a variety of reasons, many of which Rodimus decided to ignore - his crew had earned a vacation, he was not about to let a million-year-old ban prevent them from stopping here for a couple of weeks. Rodimus was sure to explain that blowing their cover meant that they might not make it off of the planet alive, and the crew seemed to understand the importance of maintaining a human disguise with their holoforms.

Today, a handful of the crewmembers were scattered along the shore, many of them enjoying the feeling of sand between human toes for the first time ever. Rodimus and Drift were enjoying a relatively calm frisbee toss, although Drift’s throwing arm could use some work. The frisbee went further and further, and Rodimus found that he was the only one moving down the beach.

“Okay Drift! Try not to throw it so hard this time!” he shouted across the beach, hoping that Drift could actually hear him. His friend squinted at him with a hand on his hip and then launched the frisbee much harder than any human ever could.

Well, so much for that.

Rodimus chased after it, hoping that he wouldn’t run into anyone. This part of the beach thankfully wasn’t too busy, so he wasn’t all that worried about it - he was far more determined to catch the flying disc.

Unfortunately, in his eagerness to catch the frisbee, he had all but blocked out his surroundings. Drift was running toward him, shouting something, but Rodimus couldn’t hear what he was saying, far too focused on his goal. He reached up, fingers grasping the edge of the frisbee-

Before he could catch it, something hard struck him right in the temple, knocking him out cold.

* * *

Aqua gasped, wasting no time to run to the poor person she just smacked in the head very hard with a volleyball.

“Did Aqua just _kill_ that guy?” Ven’s panicked voice cried from behind them, and Aqua winced as she knelt down, examining the man to make sure he was alright. She was distantly aware of Terra calming Ven down while another man ran onto the scene.

The person she'd hit was very much alive, at least, but definitely unconscious. He wasn't bleeding or anything, but Aqua figured that he’d have a concussion if she didn’t act quickly. She gently ran her fingers through his bright red hair until she found a bump on his head.

“Heal,” she whispered, green magic flowing from her fingertips onto the injury, instantly healing it. She leaned back and began to sigh in relief as the man stirred, his eyes opening-

Her breath caught in her throat as those bright blue eyes dazedly focused on her.

* * *

Rodimus blinked, time slowing to a crawl as his senses came back to him.

_What happened?_

The first thing that returned to him was sound. He heard the distant splash of water, mingling with the sound of organics laughing and playing.

The scent of the ocean came to him next, though it was tinged with something sweet that he didn’t recognize. _That’s right... I’m at the beach,_ he thought.

By this point, his sight was starting to morph from strangely colored blobs to actual shapes. A majority of his vision right now was blue, though not necessarily the soft blue of the sky. Some of it seemed to be part of a human - not one of his crew’s holoforms, but someone he didn’t recognize. He felt fingers against his temple, cradling his head ever so carefully, and he could only assume this person was here to help.

When his eyes finally focused on hers, the most brilliant shade of blue he had ever seen, he heard her breath hitch quietly.

She was... _beautiful._

Even with her gaze full of concern, she was easily one of the loveliest humans that Rodimus had ever seen. He took a moment to admire her soft, round face, framed with hair that was the same vibrant hue as her eyes. One of the planet’s suns was behind her, illuminating her form like one of those auras that Drift was able to detect.

He blinked, trying and failing to speak a few times. His mouth was as dry as the sand around him, so he cleared his throat before trying to speak again.

“Who... What happened?” he asked, his voice gravelly.

Her entire form sagged with relief when he spoke. She reached behind him to help him sit up slowly, then leaned back a bit to give him some space.

“I accidentally hit you with a volleyball,” she explained with an apologetic smile.

“Yeah, she knocked you out cold,” a new voice said.

Rodimus turned to see Drift watching them a few feet away, joined by two humans he didn’t recognize. One of them was... huge. The other looked to be just a kid, though Rodimus was admittedly terrible at judging the ages of humans.

He turned back to the woman, eyebrows furrowing as his memory of being hit in the head returned to him. Subconsciously, he reached up to his temple, rubbing at the area that probably should have been swollen and tender. Oddly enough it was only the slightest bit sore, with no sign of a real injury anywhere.

“You must have a hell of a strong arm if you knocked me out cold like that. You and Drift would get along well,” he said, sending a pointed look toward his amica, who had the sense to look guilty.

“Yeah... I’m really sorry for hitting you - by the time I saw you, it was too late to stop the ball,” she said with a slight frown. “Is there... any way I can make it up to you?”

Rodimus looked at her again, considering her offer for a long moment. He opened his mouth to impulsively ask her for a kiss. His suggestion would be conveyed in a playful manner, complete with a charming smile, no doubt making her laugh at the very least, right? But... his mind wandered back to the burly human man, who could easily snap Rodimus in half like a twig.

The volleyball seemed to have knocked some sense into him - perhaps that wasn’t the best idea, after all.

“I... Uhhh,” Rodimus replied intelligently, his stomach twisting into knots as he looked into her eyes again. Why was he so nervous all of a sudden? _Get a grip, Rodimus,_ he scolded himself. _This is weird!_

As he was about to assure her that no, he was fine, no need for her to make it up to him, his stomach growled loudly. Her eyes widened in surprise, and he could see her lips twitch as she fought down amusement.

Rodimus felt heat rush to his face, mentally cursing the latest holoform upgrade. So far, it was making the human experience just a bit too real for his tastes. First, he gets knocked out cold, then he becomes completely star-struck, and now he’s humiliated by hunger - it was all a bit much, really.

“Actually... Are you guys cool with grabbing some lunch?” Rodimus asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Of course!” she replied with a bright smile. “Buying you lunch is the least I can do.”

She stood up, offering Rodimus a hand and helping him to his feet. He gave her a warm smile and a quiet “thanks”, his stomach churning in delight as a soft blush ran to her face.

Primus, she was _so cute._

“I’m Aqua, by the way,” she said before turning toward the other two humans. “These are my friends, Terra and Ventus.”

“Call me Ven!” the smaller human exclaimed, smiling brighter than the suns above them.

“Cool. Nice to meet you guys,” Rodimus replied. Meeting new people was something he always looked forward to, and despite the unusual introduction, he wondered if he might be able to hang out with these humans for at least part of the vacation. They seemed nice enough. “I’m Rodimus, and that’s Drift, my best friend,” he continued, gesturing toward his amica. 

Drift, who was typically pretty quiet around new people, offered a small wave and a quiet, “hello!”

Once they had all gathered their belongings, including the frisbee and the volleyball that had miraculously brought them all together, Rodimus spoke again.

“So, where are we headed? Drift and I just got here this morning, so we have no idea where any of the good places are.”

Not that their destination was all that important, really - Rodimus was eager to just spend a few more minutes with Aqua. He was looking forward to getting to know her better, and was secretly hoping that he could see her blush again.

“Honestly, we haven’t been here for long either. We just got here yesterday,” Aqua replied with a small smile.

“It’s our first vacation together in _forever!_ ” Ven said, practically vibrating with excitement. “I’ve never been on a world with two suns before! And this is only the second world I’ve gone to with a beach!”

Terra placed a steady hand on Ven’s shoulder before speaking up. “We ate at a diner not too far from here yesterday, it was pretty good,” he suggested. “Come on, we’ll show you the way!”

He shot Aqua a look that Rodimus couldn’t decipher before turning away, smoothly maneuvering Ven to walk by his side. Ven followed him excitedly, leaving Aqua to walk with Rodimus and Drift.

Aqua laughed quietly. “The food there was pretty good, and they had a lot of variety,” she reassured Rodimus before falling into step next to him and Drift to follow her friends.

They walked quietly for a few minutes. Rodimus tried not to let the silence feel uncomfortable, reminding himself that it wasn’t necessarily awkward unless he made it so. He shot Aqua a glance out of the corner of his eye, happy to see that she looked perfectly content with the quiet, which helped him relax a bit.

“So, you guys are on vacation too, huh?” Drift eventually asked from Rodimus’ right side. “Where are you from, if I may ask?”

Aqua nodded from Rodimus’ left, letting out a low hum before answering. “We’re from a lovely little world called Radiant Garden. It's pretty far away from here, and has a quaint town surrounding a castle that’s very peaceful. We just moved there recently, though. We, well...” A frown tugged at her lips for a moment, but it was gone in a flash. “Let’s just say, we’ve had a rough few years, and things just recently settled down enough for us to decide we could use a break, just the three of us.”

She took a moment to smile fondly at the sky, clearly happy to be here. “It’s quite a beautiful world, I’m glad we chose to come here for our vacation,” she continued before turning toward Rodimus. “Where are you two from, if you don’t mind me asking? Are you here with anybody else?”

“Yeah, we’re here with quite a few people,” Rodimus replied. “We’re from off-world too.”

Drift nudged Rodimus’ shoulder, raising a brow at him. Rodimus tilted his head in confusion, not understanding what kind of hint was being given, and Drift rolled his eyes.

“We’re on a quest,” Drift said.

Rodimus squinted at him. He wasn’t too sure just how many details he wanted to reveal to these new friends, as they had only just met. But Drift seemed to think that they were trustworthy enough to at least get the basic story, and Rodimus trusted Drift’s intuition - he was much better at reading strangers, after all.

“Yeah. I’m kind of the captain of a ship,” Rodimus explained with as much modesty as he could muster.

“Oh? A captain? That’s pretty impressive,” Aqua replied with raised brows.

“It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it,” Rodimus said, allowing the compliment to sink in for a moment before his bravado fell away. “Unfortunately, we’ve hit a few bumps in the road during our quest, so... I decided a shore leave was in order, and here we are.”

That was the understatement of the century, but Aqua seemed to accept the answer for now. Rodimus looked up to see that they had arrived at the diner, with Terra and Ven waiting by the door for them.

The group of five piled into a corner booth, Drift and Rodimus on one side, Terra and Aqua on the other, with Ven volunteering to sit in a chair at the end of the table. Aqua offered him her spot, but he merely shook his head.

“Makes me the head of the group,” he said with a smug smile.

A server came by and took their orders for drinks while handing out menus. Once they left, Aqua turned to Rodimus, eyes alight with curiosity. “So, what is your quest for? If that’s ok for me to ask?”

“A quest?” Terra asked, subtly leaning forward in interest.

Ven eagerly turned to Rodimus and Drift as well. “You guys are on a quest? That’s awesome!” he exclaimed brightly.

Rodimus glanced at Drift, who merely arched an eyebrow at him. His look could easily be read as _’don’t mess this up’,_ and Rodimus sighed.

“Well... I can’t tell you everything,” he admitted. “My crew and I are looking for some people. They’re like... gods? I guess. Most of our kind think of them as mythical or whatever and were all too happy to boot us off the planet to find them. Which is fine. Drift is convinced that they are more than a myth, and I believe him,” he said, smiling fondly at his amica and clapping him on the shoulder.

Drift blushed a bit. “Well, what can I say? I have excellent intuition. Remember who suggested that we stop here for shore leave?” he asked, trying to play it cool.

“Against Mags’ better judgment,” Rodimus muttered under his breath.

Drift rolled his eyes, making it clear how he felt about Magnus’ long list of rules and regulations. “Yes, well, if we hadn’t come here, would you have met the lovely Aqua?” he teased.

Rodimus nodded in agreement, turning to wink across the table at Aqua. “You know, you’ve got a good point,” he said.

The bright blush overtook her again as her eyes darted to look down at the table. “Yes, well... that’s very kind of you, even if I didn’t make the best first impression,” she said softly.

Rodimus’ heart fluttered at her adorably shy reaction. Perhaps he did have a chance, after all? Though he supposed it would still be best to proceed with caution.

“Well, that’s quite the quest. Hope you’re able to find those people you’re looking for,” Terra said after a moment, drawing everyone’s attention again.

“Yeah,” Ven agreed, recovering his earlier excitement, “any excuse to visit new worlds seems good to me though! Nothing quite like stepping on a new world for the first time.”

Rodimus nodded. It was clear that out of the three humans, Ven was the most curious and eager to make new friends. It seemed that his earlier guess of Ven being youngest of the trio might not have been too far off, as his excitement of going to new places and meeting new people certainly reminded Rodimus of his younger self.

The server arrived with their drinks and took their orders, picking up their menus and heading away. Aqua turned to look at Rodimus once again, seeming to have fully recovered from his charm. “How’s your head? Does it hurt at all?” she asked.

“It’s just fine, actually. Not even sore? Which is a bit odd,” he answered. “Although, I have to say, I’ve never been knocked out before. That was a new one for me.”

Terra snorted. “You’re lucky you’re alive. Aqua didn’t hold back at all with that spike,” he said, eyes focusing far away for a moment, as though he spoke from experience.

“You guys must have been playing for glory,” Drift cut in, “you don’t hit like that unless you’re making a point to someone.”

Rodimus shot his friend a look. “Drift, you have no room to talk... did you not notice how hard you threw that frisbee? It went like 8 miles dude.”

Drift puffed his chest out, giving Rodimus a smug grin. “Yeah, 8 miles, and straight over to Aqua,” he said.

Rodimus rolled his eyes. “Yeah, well, don’t be too proud of yourself. It could have easily been straight to the hospital,” he reminded Drift, before turning to Aqua again.

“You helped me pull through, though. Thanks for not just leaving me there in the sand to die,” Rodimus said, smiling warmly and reaching across the table to place a hand over one of Aqua’s.

The blush returned to Aqua’s face full-force at the simple touch. “Of course!” she cried, clearly flustered. “I couldn’t just leave you there, especially since it was my fault!”

She was so cute, and Rodimus couldn’t help the smile that broke out across his face at her reaction. His thumb ran little circles across the back of her hand, noting how small and soft it was against his own.

“How long are you guys going to be staying here?” Terra asked after a moment. “We’re probably going to be here a while, I think it’d be nice to hang out some more.”

Rodimus gave Aqua’s hand a soft squeeze before returning to his side of the table. “Well, I figure we’ll be here for a couple of weeks or so. That was the plan, anyway.”

Ven perked up at the sound of that. “Oh! Maybe we can meet more of your crew!” he said excitedly.

Drift nodded, turning toward him. “I think I know a few people who would get along well with you,” he said, likely referring to the minibots.

“Yeah, I think it would be fun to meet up again. You guys seem pretty cool,” Rodimus agreed, taking a long sip of his drink. He reached into his subspace, which appeared to be an ordinary pocket on his shorts, fishing around for a pen to write with.

Once he found what he was looking for, he pulled a napkin out of the dispenser and wrote down his communicator’s number, making sure to draw a winky face next to it before he slid it across the table to Aqua. “Just message me if you guys wanna do something,” he said, putting his pen back into his pocket as the server arrived with their food.

Aqua looked down at the napkin with wide eyes, quickly picking it up and tucking it away so that the server could put their food on the table.

Now that their food was here, a comfortable silence fell over the table as they all started to eat. Rodimus didn’t know about the rest of them, but he was quite happy to have some food in his belly. He ate as slowly as possible, hoping that it wasn’t too obvious that he had accidentally skipped his morning cube of energon.

It didn’t take long for the conversation to start back up again, though - between the five of them, the small talk flowed naturally enough. As they all opened up and got to know each other, Rodimus found himself intrigued by just how close the three humans were. It was clear to him that they had all been friends for a considerable amount of time, and he'd even venture to guess they were close like siblings, though he admittedly didn't know much about human familial bonds. Ven wasn't as reserved as Aqua or Terra were, but the energy and conversation still flowed between the three of them with a familiar ease. 

Terra and Ven both seemed fascinated by Aqua's flustered reactions, smiling fondly at her and openly exchanging amused looks with each other and Drift. Neither of them did anything to make Rodimus ease up on the flirting, so he took advantage of their quiet approval to send Aqua plenty more warm smiles across the table, though he was careful not to overdo it.

All in all, their added company made for an interesting lunch, and before Rodimus knew it, their meal was over. The server arrived with their bill and Aqua snapped the envelope off of the table before Rodimus could even blink.

“Hey! You don’t have to actually pay for our food, y’know,” Rodimus said with a pout.

Aqua quirked a brow at him. “Well, I’m going to. It’s the least I can do.”

Rodimus hummed in response. “I see how it’s gonna be. I guess I’ll just have to pay next time,” he said smoothly, taking another sip of his beverage.

Aqua’s eyes widened a bit at that, but she nodded. “That isn’t... necessary. But alright,” she said.

She reached into her bag to retrieve some money from her wallet, counting it carefully before tucking it into the envelope alongside the receipt.

Once the bill was paid, the five of them headed outside to the front of the restaurant. Drift and Terra stood off to the side, discussing something quietly. Rodimus shrugged it off, turning toward Aqua and Ven instead.

“Well, it was wonderful to meet all of you,” he said warmly. “I would love to hang around for a little longer, but I have some paperwork I need to finish before tomorrow.”

Aqua nodded. “It was nice to meet you two as well, even if our introduction was a little... painful for you,” she said with a wince.

Rodimus chuckled, patting her gently on the shoulder. “Nah, don’t worry about that. I’ve certainly dealt with worse.”

Her cheeks lit up again when he touched her, and she cleared her throat as her eyes darted away.

“Hopefully we’ll get to hang out again soon! I wanna meet those people Drift was talking about,” Ven said, somehow still full of energy despite eating an entire plate of food. Rodimus hoped that the minibots didn’t disappoint with how excited Ven clearly was, but only time would tell.

“Indeed. I think we would all have a nice time,” Drift said cheerfully from Rodimus’ side, the sudden arrival scaring him half to death.

And with that, it was time to depart. They all waved goodbye to each other, the two groups heading in separate directions to enjoy the rest of their day.

* * *

Aqua’s mind was racing the entire way back to the hotel. She could hear Ven and Terra talking, but she was far too caught up in her own thoughts to really pay much attention to the discussion.

If someone told her this morning that she was going to hit a man in the head with a volleyball, she might have believed them. However, if they went on to tell her that he was incredibly handsome, charming, and was eager to flirt with her despite her knocking him out cold, she would have laughed in their face. It was beyond ridiculous.

Yet, it had happened.

She closed her eyes, shaking her head to try and clear her thoughts, but it did little to help. All she could see was Rodimus giving her that warm, captivating grin, his blue eyes alight with curiosity and intrigue. Her eyes snapped open and she found herself blushing all over again.

If they met again, Aqua was going to have to do something about the blushing - she was certain it could be seen from outer space.

“You’re awfully quiet over there,” Terra said, effectively distracting her from her predicament.

Aqua looked up, realizing that they had reached the hotel and were heading inside the lobby. “Sorry, I’m just... thinking about something,” she replied in a relatively steady voice.

“Something? Or is it _someone_?” Terra asked with a grin.

The heat from her cheeks ran up to the tips of her ears, drawing a chuckle out of Terra.

She said nothing, choosing instead to head straight to the room they were staying in. After placing her bag on the corner of one of the beds, she sat down heavily on the fold-out couch. Her friends plopped down on either side of her, despite the fact that there wasn’t really enough room for all three of them to sit there comfortably.

“He seems... nice,” Ven said. His words were likely intended to be supportive, but the way he said them made him seem a bit unsure about the situation.

Aqua nodded, picking up the remote and turning on the television. “They both were very nice. I’m sure many among their crew are,” she replied.

Terra nudged her with his elbow. “So, you gonna text him or what?”

Aqua frowned. As much as she wanted to talk to him again, she found herself hesitating.

“I dunno,” she said eventually. “I might tomorrow.”

“Well, you never gave him your number, so you can’t wait for him to text first,” Terra reminded her. “No pressure or anything.”

Aqua sighed. “Yeah, that’s true. Well, if you or Ven want to try and meet up with them tomorrow, I’ll text him, okay?”

Ven was only half-listening, as he had become absorbed in the TV show that was on, but he nodded anyway. “I do! I wanna meet with them and their crew tomorrow!” he said, clearly excited at the prospect of new friends.

Terra snorted. “Well, now you _gotta_ text him.”

Aqua rolled her eyes, but her mind was already scrambling to think of what she should do. How long was an appropriate amount of time to wait before she reached out to him? What could she say that wouldn’t be embarrassing? What if he wasn’t actually interested and never texted her back?

Judging by the reassuring pat on her shoulder from Terra, her internal struggle was clearly written across her features, and it drew a weary sigh out of her.

It was going to be a _long_ afternoon.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Listen, Aqua is so freaking cute. How could you not love her?

Aqua picked up her phone, taking a steadying breath.

_Hey, it’s Aqua._ , she began to type. _I was just wondering if you maybe wanted to_

Ugh, no. That wasn’t worded right.

_Ven was wanting to_

Well, that wasn’t quite right either.

_Did you want to_

Aqua sighed, deleting the message entirely and tossing her phone onto the bed next to her. Terra groaned dramatically from across the room, perfectly conveying how Aqua felt about the situation as well.

She had been trying to text Rodimus since the night before, but everything she seemed to type just sounded _off_ \- it was either way too formal or way too desperate. Aqua knew she was likely overthinking the entire situation, but even with that knowledge, she could never bring herself to just hit the ‘send’ button.

At one point, Terra had even tried to pry the phone out of her hands and text Rodimus himself, while Ventus watched from the couch with amusement. Aqua had thankfully managed to persevere by stomping on Terra’s toes, and he hadn’t tried again since.

Glancing up from her lap, she noticed that Terra was looking down at his own phone, his prior frustration seemingly forgotten. After a moment, he all but flew off of his bed with unexpected enthusiasm, startling Aqua and Ven with the sudden movement.

“Come on, I’m hungry. Let’s go get lunch,” he suggested with a grin.

Ventus rolled off of the couch and onto his feet, stretching his arms over his head. “Sure, I could use some food.”

“Okay,” Aqua agreed, glancing at the clock on her phone. She supposed that it would technically be brunch rather than lunch, but Terra seemed to be hungry enough that he didn’t care what it was called.

They each dug around in their suitcases, looking for something to wear. Aqua quickly plucked her favorite sundress out of the bottom of her bag, heading to the bathroom so she could get dressed first.

It only took them a few minutes to get ready, and once they all gathered their belongings they met by the door.

“So, where are we going?” she asked as they headed out.

Terra turned and locked the door to their room behind him. “Ah, just a little coffee place I saw the other day. I hear its pretty good,” he said with a shrug.

Aqua squinted at him skeptically. He tended to avoid places like cafes and coffee shops, especially when he was actually hungry - he was a big eater, and the prices were ridiculously high for not serving “real food”, or so he had claimed in the past.

But, she was more than happy to get out of the hotel room, so she pushed her suspicion aside. For all she knew, Terra just wanted to go outside as well, and she couldn't blame him for that. What was the point of vacationing on such a lovely world if they stayed inside the whole time?

It ended being a fairly short walk to the cafe, but she still enjoyed being outside. The weather that day was sunny and warm, absolutely perfect for the dress she had chosen, and she smiled as they headed down the sidewalk. 

The cafe was rather small and quaint, but as they entered she realized it was still bustling with customers. It took her eyes a moment to adjust to the lighting inside, but once they did, Aqua caught a strange movement from the corner of the room. She turned toward it, gasping when she got an eyeful of Rodimus’ bright red hair.

Indeed, tucked in a booth by a window were Drift and Rodimus, each cradling a beverage. Drift quickly made eye contact with her, but Rodimus was facing the other direction, so he hadn’t seen her yet. Maybe she just could turn around and...

Rodimus’ head turned toward the trio before she could finish that thought, and Aqua felt as though her feet were glued to the floor. A look of surprise crossed over his face when he saw her, and Aqua felt a bright flush run up her face as he slowly took in the sight of her.

Rodimus then turned back toward the table as Drift waved them over with a wide, welcoming smile on his face.

“Oh, look who it is,” Terra said a bit _too_ cheerfully, wrapping an arm around Aqua’s shoulders so he could steer her toward the table. “We should go say hi!”

“Okay!” Ventus said, bounding happily over to where Drift and Rodimus sat.

_I’m going to strangle Terra when we get back to the hotel room_ , Aqua thought irritably.

Drift and Rodimus each moved over, and Aqua felt her cheeks growing hotter and hotter as she and her friends approached the table.

“Fancy seeing you guys here,” Terra said as he quickly plopped down next to Drift. Ventus dragged over a chair from a nearby empty table to sit at the end of the booth again, leaving Aqua to take a seat next to Rodimus. As she settled into the booth, she couldn’t help but notice that the spot where he had been sitting was quite warm.

Ventus nodded. “Yeah, I wasn’t expecting to see you guys so soon! Aqua kept fidgeting with her phone, but - oof!” he began, only to be interrupted by Aqua nudging him roughly with her foot under the table. 

She would have sent Ven an unamused look, but her eyes were glued to the table in front of her as she tried to control her blush. Luckily for her, he took the very obvious hint. “Well, anyway. It’s good to see you,” he said.

“Yeah, I wasn’t expecting to see you guys either,” Rodimus said with a small voice. He cleared his throat before continuing, “What a surprise!”

Aqua swore that he almost sounded... nervous? She couldn't tell for sure, but the thought helped ease some of her own anxiousness. At least she wasn't the only one thrown off by this unexpected meeting.

“It’s a small world,” Drift said, and Terra hummed in agreement.

“You look really pretty, by the way,” Rodimus said to Aqua, his voice much more steady when he spoke this time.

Aqua’s head snapped up, eyes widening briefly at his compliment before her face softened into a small smile. “Thank you,” she replied, flattered. “You look very nice today, too.”

And he did - his bright red hair was more neatly styled today than it was yesterday, and the shirt he wore was tight enough to easily make out his lean muscles, although she had seen plenty of them with the tank top he had worn the day before.

When her eyes met his, still such a striking shade of blue, she realized she had been staring at him. More than that, he had _seen_ her staring - she could tell by the knowing look in his eyes and the light flush dusting his cheeks. She quickly turned her gaze back to the table, heart hammering and heat moving up to the tips of her ears.

She could practically _feel_ Terra smirking at her from across the table, but luckily he kept his mouth closed.

“Is anyone else from your crew here today?” Ventus asked, and Aqua sagged with relief at the distraction.

“I don’t know, I haven’t really looked. Lemme see...” Rodimus said, turning to look behind him.

Rodimus’ arm brushed against her shoulder as he leaned against the back of the booth to glance behind them. She felt warm and tingly at the barely-there touch, trying her best to hold her body still as everyone else turned to look behind her.

“See those pigtails? That’s Whirl.” Rodimus began, and Ven started bouncing in his seat with excitement. “No, Ven. Stay away from Whirl, he is nothing but trouble. But that little hefty fella sitting across from him, with the sunglasses? That’s Swerve. I think y’all would get along, he’s really sweet.”

Drift snorted. “Why is he wearing his sunglasses inside?” he asked.

Rodimus turned back toward the table with a chuckle, though he left his arm resting along the back of the booth, just barely touching Aqua’s back. “You know how he is.”

“That I do!” Drift said with a laugh. “And, don’t forget Skids, the dashing gentleman sitting in between them.”

Rodimus turned back to his crewmates for a moment to confirm Drift’s statement. “Yeah, he's pretty nice too! Kind of a nerd though,” he said before facing the table again.

Ventus smiled at them, practically bouncing in his seat. “Oh wow, can I meet them?” he asked, eyes bright with excitement at the idea of making even more new friends.

Terra hummed, leaning back in his seat as he sent a critical glance towards the arm resting just behind Aqua. “I’m sure you can, eventually. But first, let’s put in our lunch orders.” With that he smoothly stood from the booth, gesturing for Ventus to follow him. Aqua began to stand as well, but Terra shook his head, fighting down a smile. “Nah, we got this. Just tell us what you want.”

Aqua huffed, sending a pointed look in Terra's direction to let him know she was well aware of what he was doing. “Peppermint tea, if they have it.” She leaned back into her seat, forgetting about Rodimus’ arm until she felt his skin pressing into her back. Once again the blush, which she had only _just_ gotten under control, came back in full force and she quickly leaned forward again.

She decided to ignore the way Terra chuckled at her as he and Ventus walked towards the counter, offering a quiet apology to Rodimus.

“Nah, you’re good,” Rodimus said with a smile. He reached down to pat her shoulder affectionately before he moved his arm back to his side again. Aqua’s skin felt warm where his hand had touched her, though she tried her best to not think too hard about it.

They sat quietly for a brief moment before Drift spoke up, catching her attention. “Tea, huh? I’m a tea guy, too. Coffee is a little... much sometimes,” he said.

Aqua sat up a bit, happy to engage in the conversation. “Yes, I much prefer tea! Especially the more subtle ones - I do like sweet, but not in my drinks.”

Rodimus sent his friend a curious glance before turning to Aqua. “What’s it taste like? Peppermint tea?” he asked.

Aqua considered Rodimus’ question with a thoughtful frown. “It tastes like mint, I guess. But not as intense or sweet as it would be if you had an actual peppermint. It’s refreshing, and it’s very nice if you mix in a little bit of honey,” she answered with a shrug.

Rodimus nodded. “Sounds interesting, but pretty different from what I’m used to,” he admitted.

Drift snorted. “He’d probably have to add a whole bottle of honey to it. He’s got the biggest sweet tooth out of anyone I’ve ever met.”

Rodimus chuckled. “What can I say? I have similar taste in beverages and girls - nice and sweet,” he said, nudging Aqua’s shoulder and shooting her a rather goofy wink.

Aqua smiled shyly, ducking her head down at his words. She was so out of her depth here - she had only ever been in one other situation where someone flirting with her had made her flustered, but Zack paled in comparison to Rodimus. She didn’t know what to do way back then, and she certainly had no clue what to do now. She risked a glance Rodimus’ way, and he sent her a smile that had her head spinning.

Since when was it possible or even legal for someone to look so good?

Sensing she was just a few seconds away from making a fool of herself, she turned towards the counter to see how her friends were doing - only for her eyes to widen when she saw them both carrying armfuls of food. She knew that they were supposed to eat lunch here, but just how much money did all that cost?

“Excuse me,” she said as she jumped out of the booth to help them.

Luckily, with her assistance, all of the food and beverages made it to the table safely. They set everything down carefully before they each tucked back into their seats.

“Is all of this for you three?” Rodimus asked with a raised brow.

“No,” Ven replied. “Terra and I decided to get enough for everyone. We noticed that you two didn’t have any food in front of you.”

Rodimus smiled warmly at Ventus. “That’s sweet of you, kiddo, thanks. I’ll be sure to pay you guys back before we leave,” he said, picking up a chocolate chip muffin and tearing a small piece off of the top.

Aqua selected a muffin as well, though hers appeared to have some sort of fruit in it. She found herself eating it rather quickly, as the smell of all the food at the table had reminded her that she hadn’t eaten yet today. Ven was also eating hurriedly, though Aqua suspected that he was rushing so he could meet Rodimus’ crew. 

As they ate, a comfortable conversation fell over the table about their hobbies. Aqua learned that Rodimus seemed to be quite the daredevil, or at least that he used to be. Evidently, he had set many things aside for this quest, among them being racing and... meteor surfing?

Surely that was an exaggeration to impress her, or something from his culture that Aqua didn’t get.

She mentally made a note to ask him about it sometime. For now, the eating portion of their surprise visit was starting to come to a close. Ven had been drumming his fingers on the table for a few minutes now, trying his hardest to wait patiently for Terra to finish eating.

As soon as Terra put the last bite of food in his mouth, Ventus sat ramrod straight with excitement. Terra rolled his eyes as he chewed and swallowed, though it was more out of amusement than annoyance.

Drift smiled. “Alright. Let’s go talk to Swerve and Skids,” he said, patting Terra’s shoulder and giving Rodimus a small smile.

Terra shot Aqua a grin of his own as he and Ventus quickly stood up. “Don’t worry, we won’t be too long. I’ll keep an eye on Ven, you stay right here.”

“Well, alright,” she replied, noting that Rodimus seemed to have no intention of getting up.

Aqua watched as her friends were led away by Drift, a sudden nervousness washing over her. She was alone with Rodimus - which was probably Terra’s plan from the start - and it was likely the best and worst outcome she could hope for. She turned her gaze down to her cup of tea, thumb rubbing nervously into the smooth surface as she struggled to get her mind to cooperate.

He had been flirting with her, he was very obviously interested. She needed to show that she was as well. But what could she say that wouldn’t have her make a complete fool of herself?

She turned towards Rodimus, opening her mouth to say... well, she wasn’t sure. It didn’t matter anyway, because the look he was giving her had her breath caught in her throat.

Rodimus smiled softly, reaching over to carefully pick up Aqua's free hand - though, his grip was quite loose, leaving plenty of room for Aqua to pull away if she wanted. He ran his thumb over the small bumps of her knuckles, massaging the sensitive spaces between her fingers. “Your hands are so tiny and cute...” he remarked.

His hands were soft, his touch was gentle, and yet the area where he touched seemed to burn. Aqua’s notorious blush returned once more at the comment, her gaze darting away.

“Is this okay?” he asked quietly, movements stilling as he awaited her response.

Her heart pounded and she felt a little lightheaded, but Aqua knew one thing: she did not want him to let go. She swallowed past the lump in her throat, facing him and giving a single nod. “Y-yeah, this is alright.” Aqua bit her bottom lip, brow furrowed as she debated if she should return the compliment he sent her. “Your hands are... warm.” She instantly winced; while that was hardly the worst thing she could’ve said, it wasn’t nearly as flattering as she would’ve liked.

Rodimus squeezed her hand, his smile widening. “I’ve been told I run hot,” he said smoothly before letting out a nervous chuckle. “I just hope that my hands aren’t too sweaty.”

With his free arm, he reached along the back of the booth cushion once again, gently drawing her a little nearer to him. His touch was careful as he rested his arm along her shoulders once again, and she found herself moving closer with ease. He adjusted their joined hands, threading their fingers together, and Aqua got to feel just how much warmer his hand was where it pressed against hers.

Aqua smiled, taking in a deep breath as she willed herself to relax and lean back into the booth. “No, they aren’t really sweaty, you’re good.”

She glanced at him, a small grin tugging on her lips as she took in more of his features - the sharp point of his nose, the freckles that dusted his cheeks... “I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised. Of course, someone who looks like you would run warm,” she continued. Her cheeks flushed as she turned her face away, nerves suddenly returning in full force. “You’re really hot.”

Aqua glanced at Rodimus out of the corner of her eye, surprised to see his cheeks light up this time. He tore his eyes away from hers to look down at their joined hands, his mouth opening and closing a few times. “I, uh. Thank you,” he replied, clearing his throat before meeting her gaze once more.

They looked at each other quietly for a long moment, his eyes narrowing thoughtfully the longer he looked into hers. “You know... I’ve never met anyone with eyes like yours. They’re like, impossibly blue,” he said, voice soft and sincere. “They’re _beautiful_.”

Oh, she was in trouble. She had poked the hornet’s nest. He was looking at her with eyes so warm and saying those sweet things - she felt like she could melt.

Aqua gulped, her mind scrambling nearly as fast as her heart. “Thank you,” she managed to say, breathless though she was. “I...” She bit her bottom lip again, a little too hard judging by the little spike of pain that she promptly ignored.

“I could say the same for you. I’ve never seen eyes like yours,” she continued. Aqua was accustomed to dark blue eyes - she saw them every day in the mirror, she saw them with Terra, and Ventus, and many more of her friends. But out of all the blue eyes she had seen, none were quite as light or _vibrant_ as Rodimus’. “They’re like... stars.” They shone so much she could swear they’d glow in the dark.

Rodimus’ expression all but melted at the compliment, a soft breath rushing out of him. “Stars, huh? That’s awful sweet of you, Aqua,” he said, adjusting their joined hands so he could lift her hand up and brush his lips gently across her knuckles. “Thank you.”

A shiver ran up Aqua’s spine as his lips touched her knuckles, and she was extremely grateful that she was already sitting because her knees were now likely too weak to be able to properly support her. Her breath hitched and it was taking everything she had to hold her composure.

After all the battles she had fought, all the hardships she had faced, the time spent separated from everything she knew and loved - all that she survived, she was certain that this moment, with that gentle kiss, was the thing that would finally do her in. Either her heart would give out from how hard it was pounding or her mind would just simply shut down.

She licked her lips, mouth suddenly dry, and said, “Yes. Stars...” She paused for a moment, sucking in a deep breath before pushing forward. She was on a roll and needed to keep going before she lost her nerve. “And I should know, I’ve seen plenty. And, well, your eyes put them all to shame.”

Rodimus sucked in a surprised breath as he blushed again, and Aqua could practically hear his mind ticking from where she was sitting. Despite being such a flirty guy, Rodimus was surprisingly easy to fluster as well. All he seemed to need was a little praise and honesty, two things that Aqua was more than happy to provide.

His brows knitted together after a moment, and he opened his mouth to say something when he was interrupted by a loud crash from the front of the restaurant. The sound startled both of them terribly, and Rodimus’ head swung around to find the source, looking fairly annoyed at the interruption.

Shouting quickly followed the crash, and Aqua turned to see what appeared to be a teenager holding down one of the locals, demanding to know what exactly had been said about their eyepatch. Aqua noted the pigtails, realizing that it was one of Rodimus’ crewmates that he had pointed out earlier - Whirl, the troublemaker, her brain reminded her. She couldn’t help but wonder why Rodimus had rowdy teenagers on his crew, but figured that would be a question to save for another time.

Rodimus sighed loudly, squeezing Aqua’s hand before letting it fall to her lap. “Sorry, Aqua, I need to get up - get Whirl out of here before this gets worse,” he said tersely.

Aqua nodded, scooting out of the way so he could stand up. Although she understood that it was probably part of the responsibility of being the ship’s captain, her heart ached when she watched him leave.

It felt as though something had snapped within her, or someone had thrown a bucket of cold water on her head - it was strange, how in such a short amount of time she grew so accustomed to him being by her side. She shook her head and stood, eyes already scanning the crowd for her friends. The last thing they needed was more trouble, so it was best to leave while they still could.

Luckily, they were already by the door waiting for her. The rest of Rodimus’ crewmates were standing around Whirl, all attempting to deescalate the situation as best as they could.

Her hand brushed over her phone in her pocket as she headed toward the door. _Tomorrow_ , she thought to herself. She’d text him later, and maybe they could try again tomorrow. There was no denying that he liked her now, and she had shown her own interest in him with relative success, so she _should_ have no problem getting in contact with him.

Well, in theory, at least.

* * *

Once the situation had settled down, Rodimus and the other crewmembers returned to the Lost Light. Skids and Swerve were off somewhere, helping Whirl cool down, while Drift decided to stick around in Rodimus’ office to chat for a bit. Rodimus needed to fill out an incident report, but he was so frustrated by what had happened in the coffee shop that he couldn’t really focus on much else.

“I can’t believe it, Drift! We were _finally_ getting somewhere,” Rodimus said, his head thudding against his desk. “I could tell by the way she was looking at me. And, like, half the stuff she was saying, I’ve never heard in my _entire life!_ ”

Drift petted the back of Rodimus’ helm soothingly. “I’m sorry,” he said, his voice warm and sincere. “It can only go uphill from here, right? Surely the next time you meet up it will be better.”

Rodimus sighed, lifting his head up again to look at his amica. “But... what if she doesn’t... want to meet up again?”

Drift snorted. “Dude, I saw the way she was looking at you. I can guarantee that she'll want to meet up again.”

“You think so?”

“Absolutely! You can trust me on this one.”

Rodimus crinkled his nose. “What makes you so sure about that? Are you just saying things to make me feel better?”

“Nah, man,” Drift replied, “I just... have a very strong feeling that we will meet up with the humans again. It’s my good intuition and all that.”

Something in Drift’s tone suggested that he was not being completely honest, but Rodimus figured he was just pretending that he and Terra hadn’t set things up this morning. Which was fine - Rodimus was hardly dense, but what kind of friend would he be if he called out how bad Drift was at being sneaky?

“Well, alright. I'll trust your gut,” Rodimus said. “If it’s wrong though, you’re in deep trouble.”

As if on cue, Rodimus’ comm unit buzzed loudly on his desk. Drift raised a brow at him.

“Well, go on. Read it,” he told Rodimus smugly.

Rodimus picked up the device: it was a message from a new number.

_Hey, it’s Aqua. Just wanted to see if you wanted to go to the fair_ _tomorrow afternoon. Tickets are 5 bucks._

“I can tell by your grin that it’s her,” Drift said, shoving playfully at Rodimus’ shoulder. “What did I tell ya?”

Rodimus rolled his optics. “Okay, okay - you were right. What do you want, another Rodimus Star?”

“Nah. Just let me bask in the glory of being right!” Drift replied, placing a servo on his chassis and posing dramatically.

As Drift playfully rubbed his superior knowledge in Rodimus’ face, Rodimus took a moment to text Aqua back, his tanks churning with excitement.

_Sure thing, cutie. How does_ _1:00_ _sound? ;)_


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, one of the people who wrote this has never been to a fair before, sorry. They got all of their knowledge from the hit television program _Carnival Eats_.
> 
> Also, just an FYI, in this fic Tailgate's holoform is an adult. He does not still have the child holoform he had in the comics.

Although he hated admitting it, Rodimus was a bundle of nerves the entire way to the fair.

He was a bit embarrassed by how worried he was, like he on his first date ever or something. While this was hardly the case for Rodimus, it was true that this was technically his first real date with Aqua. They weren't exactly going to be _alone_ , but they would be spending most of their time together this afternoon, and Rodimus really wanted for it to go well.

Thankfully, Drift decided to accompany Rodimus on the walk to the fair, giving him plenty of distraction from the anxiety that had been eating away at him. After they bought their tickets, they stood near the entrance of the fairgrounds to wait for Aqua to arrive. As his eyes scanned for her bright blue hair, Rodimus found his palms sweating and his heart hammering in his ears once again.

“Hey,” Drift said quietly, “just relax, dude. It’s gonna be fun!”

“I sure hope so...” Rodimus replied with a sigh. He drank in Drift’s reassurances as best as he could, knowing full well that his amica was probably going to split once Aqua arrived to give them some time alone.

“It will, I promise!" Drift smiled encouragingly at him, helping to settle some of his doubt. "Look, there she is right there! Aww, doesn’t she look nice?” he asked, pointing out Aqua and Terra near the back of the ticket booth line.

Nervousness and excitement alike swirled around in Rodimus' belly as Aqua approached them, looking cute as ever. She was certainly dressed for the warm weather, though as she drew nearer she appeared to be a bit flushed. Rodimus mentally debated whether the overalls she wore now were more suited for her than her sundress from yesterday, but he ultimately decided that she would look adorable in literally anything. Especially if she was smiling like that.

“Hey cutie,” he said softly. He gave her his biggest grin, hoping that his nervousness didn’t shine through too badly. He reached toward her in an offer to hold her hand. “How’s it going?”

Her smile brightened at his words, and she reached out to eagerly grab his hand. His heart skipped a beat at the lack of hesitation, the simple touch doing wonders to ease the rest of his nerves.

“Hey yourself,” she replied, waving goodbye to Terra and Drift before heading into the fair with Rodimus. “I’m doing good! How are you?”

“It’s been a long day, but I’m doing much better now that I’m here with you,” he answered, swinging their hands gently as they walked. Aqua moved with an excited skip in her step, beaming as she took in the sights around them.

Rodimus was almost overwhelmed with all the motion and sound and smells, everything grabbing for his attention at once. He was happy that it was still early afternoon - he figured at nighttime there would probably be dazzling lights everywhere to distract him further.

“I’m glad you invited me here, though... I’ve never been to a fair before,” he admitted, looking down at Aqua shyly. “But I have a feeling that no matter what we do we’ll have fun.”

Aqua’s eyes widened at his confession. “Oh! Then we’ll have to make sure that your first time is a good one!” she exclaimed, glancing around for a moment. She seemed to have spotted what she was looking for and gave his hand a gentle tug. “C’mon, this way!”

Rodimus followed her to a stand with little paper maps. Aqua carefully selected one, then led them both a few feet away so that they weren’t blocking the stand. She then tucked herself close to him, carefully unfolding the map.

“Okay,” she said once she had the map open, pointing to a list on the side. “Here are the options for the rides.”

Rodimus took a moment to examine the map, eyes roaming across the little cartoony drawing of the fair before settling on the list that Aqua was pointing at. Ferris wheel, spinny cups, tower drop...

Tunnel of love?

Rodimus had no idea what most of these things were, but he hoped they would at least get a chance to go on the tunnel of love. It sounded a little silly, but maybe it would be fun?

“Roller coasters are fun, but if you have a weak stomach or are afraid of heights it might not be the best idea,” Aqua suggested once he had an opportunity to take in everything.

His natural form was a super tall robot that turned into a racecar, so he figured that he would be okay with such a ride. He desperately hoped so, at least - the last thing he wanted to do was ruin everything by barfing all over his date.

“The roller coaster looked like a lot of fun when we walked by. I’m down with that if you are?” he said.

She beamed up at him, clearly excited to go on it. “Yeah! I’m okay with that! We should go on the teacups afterward - as long as you don’t go too fast, it can be pretty relaxing.”

Rodimus nodded, trusting her judgment more than his own. He scanned the map one last time before Aqua folded it up, tucking it into the front pocket of her overalls. She then grabbed his hand once again, eagerly leading them toward the line of the roller coaster.

The closer they got to the ride, the harder Rodimus found himself gripping Aqua’s hand. Sure, he might be super tall in his natural form, but in his holoform, this ride was really high up and rather intimidating. He wasn’t about to chicken out, but he admitted quietly to himself that he might be a little bit scared.

Aqua seemed excited to go on it, so surely it couldn’t be that bad, right? 

He swallowed hard, tugging Aqua a little closer to him as they waited in line for the other riders to finish. Rodimus tried to interpret the screaming he heard as a happy sound rather than a terrified one, and it helped to quell some of his fear. Within a few minutes the current ride ended, and an attendant led them to a seat on the ride.

As they were strapped and buckled in, Rodimus glanced over to see Aqua grinning from ear to ear. Her excitement was infectious, spreading over to him as the safety precautions played over the speakers.

And then, in the blink of an eye, they were off.

At first, it was almost faster than Rodimus’ little human body could handle. If he was honest with himself, he was terrified.

But, alongside his fear was adrenaline and excitement. It reminded him a lot of meteor surfing - scary as shit, but in a way that made his circuits sing and his plating sizzle. Once they reached the first loop, Rodimus found himself yelling with delight, and he could hear Aqua shouting as well.

The end of the ride drawing near was bittersweet - as much as Rodimus wanted to be standing on flat ground again, he was also having a lot of fun.

They stumbled off of the ride, hands clasped together. Aqua seemed to regain her bearings within a few moments, while Rodimus’ legs wobbled beneath him. She turned to him, hair sticking up in every direction and beaming brighter than any star he had ever seen, and Rodimus couldn’t help but smile back.

Terrifying or not, Rodimus would do anything to see Aqua smile like that again.

“That was... scary! But like, good scary! I think I need to sit down, though,” he said, a laugh bubbling out of him.

He made his way over to a nearby bench with Aqua hot on his heels, the both of them sitting down while he regained his balance.

“I love roller coasters. Few things can give you that sort of rush,” she said, turning to grin at him. “I’m glad you had fun!”

They rested for a few minutes, waiting for the world to be properly oriented again before Aqua pulled the map back out of her pocket.

“So, teacups? Or would you prefer to get some food? Or play some games?” she asked excitedly.

Rodimus gently rested his head against hers as they looked over the map together. “Hmm... I think the teacups would be fun,” he decided. He was getting a little hungry with all the smells of food around them, but he wasn’t quite ready to eat just yet.

“The games sound like they would be fun, but it looks super crowded over there,” he continued. “Maybe after we eat we can head that way... Or, we could go to...” he leaned back to look deeply into her eyes and grin, “the tunnel of love!” he finished in a rather silly voice, complete with waggling eyebrows.

Aqua’s eyes widened adorably, a bright flush rushing across her face. “Yeah!” she cried. She took a moment to collect herself before speaking again, her blush getting brighter by the second. “Yes, I would like to go on that, with you.”

“Good! I’d like to go on there with you, too,” Rodimus said sincerely. It took all of his control to not laugh at Aqua’s reaction - not in a mocking way, of course. He was just so... happy. She made him so happy, his cheeks were getting sore from all the smiling. Instead of laughing and likely making her upset, he bumped their shoulders together and looked back at the map.

“Ok, so teacups, then food. And then the tunnel of... love,” Aqua said, clearing her throat quietly.

“Sounds like a good plan to me. Let’s check out those spinny cups!” Rodimus said as he stood up, holding a hand out to Aqua to help her to her feet.

He folded up the map, tucking it gently into her front pocket and reaching out to take her hand. Once their fingers were once again linked together, they headed toward the next ride.

* * *

Once they were seated on the teacup ride, Aqua found herself shifting nervously, though she was finally beginning to calm down. Rodimus sat across from her, eyes aglow, the sunlight reflecting off his hair and making it even more vibrant. She smiled, one hand moving to rest over the center of her chest.

She could almost swear her heart reached for Rodimus when he placed the map back in her pocket earlier. She was amazed at how quickly she had become attached to him, but she was also... glad. She'd never really felt like this before, but occasional embarrassment aside, it was nice.

The safety precautions played over the speakers, and then the teacups began to turn, rotating slowly while the stand the cups were hooked to began to spin as well. Aqua reached forward to grip the wheel between them.

“If you want to go faster, you just need to spin this around,” she explained, gesturing towards a duo behind Rodimus spinning as fast as the cup would go, the two screaming and hooting loudly. Something about them seemed vaguely familiar, though the speed of their cup and the fact that the entire ride was rotating made it impossible to really identify them.

Rodimus reached out to grasp the disc between them, giving a rough tug and nearly knocking Aqua over onto her side. He shot her an apologetic look.

“Sorry about that. I should have started off a little slower, huh?” he said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. “I’ll let you do the honors.”

Aqua giggled, taking over for him. She kept the spinning rather calm and slow, and before long, Rodimus was leaning back in his seat, watching her with a serene smile on his face. She tried to return his gaze but found that it was difficult to keep eye contact for too long. So she focused her attention on the wheel between them, sneaking a glance up at Rodimus every now and then.

She was so absorbed in Rodimus looking at her that she nearly missed the rambunctious duo at their side screaming as they spun out of control - they'd been too overeager with it, sending the cup careening off of the base of the ride and skidding into the dirt.

Rodimus barely spared them a glance, eyes locked back onto Aqua’s again with a small smile. Aqua tried not to blush under his intense gaze but found it impossible to look away or focus on anything else.

“You know, I could watch you do literally anything all day,” Rodimus said fondly. “You’re just so cute.”

Aqua’s face flushed brightly at his admission, and it remained that way for the last few minutes of the ride. She was in a dazed state, and she couldn’t be sure if it was his words, the spinning, or her hunger that caused it. Probably a combination of the three.

After they stepped off of the ride, she held out her hand to Rodimus, and her heart fluttered when he grabbed it.

The walk to the nearby food stand was quick, and the line wasn’t as long as she expected. “So, what do you want? I’ll order for you,” Aqua asked him.

Rodimus shrugged. “I have no idea, honestly. I suppose a corn dog sounds pretty good.”

Aqua hummed thoughtfully. “Fair food is by far the most unhealthy thing on any world, but it can be pretty tasty. I think you would love funnel cakes - they’re pure sugar,” she said.

“Pure sugar? Hmmm, sounds like it might be sweeter than you, though I really doubt it,” he replied with a wink.

Aqua rolled her eyes, though she still blushed at his words. Before she could retort, it was their turn to get their food. She ordered them each a corn dog, a drink, and a funnel cake, and they each handed the cashier their money.

Once they retrieved their food, they headed over to an empty table and settled down. She saw Rodimus eagerly eyeing his funnel cake, and it seemed like he was barely able to force himself to eat the corn dog first. They ate quietly for a few minutes before he spoke up.

“Hey... I’m having a lot of fun. Thanks for inviting me,” he said, a soft smile gracing his features.

Aqua beamed at him. “Oh, I’m glad you’re having a good time! Thank you for coming along!” She shifted a bit, looking down at the table. “I really do appreciate it. I’m having a lot of fun too.”

She took another bite of her corn dog - finishing it just as Rodimus finished his own - before frowning at the funnel cake. Napkins. They would need napkins. “I’ll be right back,” she said, standing and walking back to the stand where they bought the food to grab some.

Soon enough she returned, napkins in hand, only to see Rodimus had already begun on his dessert. His eyes were wide, a large grin on his face and powdered sugar covering his mouth. Aqua couldn’t stop the giggle, and she quickly rushed back over to the table.

He took the napkins gratefully, wiping his mouth and letting out a chuckle. “Thank you. This is... the best thing I’ve ever eaten,” he said, concealing his mouth with a sugary hand as he spoke. “You were absolutely right, I love it!”

“I knew it!” Aqua said triumphantly, a proud grin on her face as she started eating her own funnel cake. “These are the _perfect_ dessert for people who have a sweet tooth like you.”

She giggled at the sight of his face covered with sugar despite his best efforts to wipe it off; some had even gotten on his shirt, though she was sure she wasn’t looking much better. “Unfortunately this particular dessert is really messy.”

Despite the mess, Rodimus persevered right to the very end, devouring every crumb of his funnel cake. Not once while he was eating did the content expression ever leave his face, and Aqua couldn’t help but smile - he looked like he was in food heaven.

Rodimus really was quite adorable, once you got past his smooth, flirty side. Sure, Aqua had found him attractive from the start and was quite flattered by his attempts to woo her, but she quickly found herself being equally drawn to this sweeter, softer part of him as well.

She shook her head, clearing her thoughts once she realized that she had finished her funnel cake. Aqua swiped a napkin along the condensation that had gathered on her drink cup, using the moisture to aid in removing the stickiness from her lips and fingers. Once she had finished cleaning herself up, she glanced across the table to ask Rodimus if he was ready to go.

Her mouth all but snapped shut when she noticed the smudge of sugar on the corner of his mouth. “Uhh, you have a...” she trailed off, pointing to her own mouth with a small smile.

Rodimus frowned and ran a hand across his mouth, somehow managing to miss it entirely. Aqua fought down a giggle, shaking her head and watching Rodimus make another attempt.

“Here,” she said, reaching across the table to offer some assistance. Aqua didn’t think much of her actions until her fingers brushed against the stubble on his cheek.

Rodimus held perfectly still, sucking in a soft breath as he watched her. A light flush rose to his cheeks, bringing out every tiny freckle on his face, and Aqua saw him swallow.

Aqua’s heartbeat hammered in her ears, and she realized that she had yet to actually do anything about cleaning his face. She rubbed at the spot as quickly as she could manage without hurting him, trying not to think about how soft his mouth was, or the warmth of his skin, or the gentle scrape of his facial hair against her fingertips-

It only took a moment, and then she was pulling back to her own side of the table, looking away as she tried not to die of embarrassment.

Rodimus cleared his throat. “You, umm, ready to go?” he asked her, and she could hear the smile in his voice.

Aqua nodded, and they both moved to clean up their table. They deposited their trash in a nearby bin, and then Rodimus was holding her hand again. The spell of embarrassment was mostly broken as he cradled her fingers in his, and she finally looked at him again.

He seemed to have recovered just fine by this point. “To the tunnel of love?” he asked with a small smile.

Aqua swallowed and nodded. “Yeah,” she managed to say, her voice sticky with how flustered she still was.

She didn’t know how she was going to survive this.

* * *

The line to the tunnel of love was surprisingly long.

“Looks like everyone else had the same idea as us,” Rodimus said. “It’s gonna be a bit of a wait. Which is okay by me, since we’ll still get to spend time together.”

“Yeah, it’s not so bad, really,” Aqua agreed. “At least the weather is nice and we aren’t being rained on.”

Rodimus nodded. “Yeah, that’s true. That would definitely be a miserable time.”

Just ahead of them in the line, Rodimus noticed two familiar faces - or, the backs of their heads at least. None other than Cyclonus and Tailgate were standing in line for this ridiculous ride, and Rodimus couldn’t help but chuckle. Of course, those old farts would be here. Cyclonus was apparently quite the romantic.

After standing in line for a few minutes, Rodimus started to get antsy. Aqua squeezed his hand reassuringly, but as he listened to the ridiculous music pouring out of the speakers around them, he started to feel like just holding her hand wasn’t quite cutting it.

So, ever so gently, he tugged Aqua closer to him. He carefully wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pulling her body more flush against his own and resting his head on top of hers. He was careful not to hold her too tightly in case she wanted to pull free, and tried very hard not to dig his pointy chin into her skull.

She relaxed, leaning back into his weight and Rodimus was pleased to note that she fit there _perfectly_.

As they started to move further along in the line, Rodimus had to unravel his arms a bit to make it easier for them to walk. He continued to hold her close, wondering whether or not he would be able to sneak a kiss in before the ride was over. Would Aqua think it was cute and romantic, or would she think it was dumb? The closer they got to the entrance of the ride, the more over the top the mood became, and Rodimus decided it would probably be dumb.

He really, really wanted to kiss her, though. He couldn’t stop thinking about her tiny cold fingers brushing against his face, her touch so gentle... he could only imagine how soft her lips would be against his.

The park attendant cleared their throat, and Rodimus realized they had finally made it to the beginning of the ride. He released Aqua from his grip and they headed toward an empty swan ‘boat’.

“This is... a little silly,” Rodimus said as he sat down in the boat. “But it’s still nice.”

There wasn’t much room on the seat, but Rodimus supposed that was kind of the point. He patted the tiny space next to him, regarding Aqua with a warm smile and open arms, and the ride attendant rolled their eyes at his grand gesture. Rodimus paid them no mind, pulling Aqua practically into his lap and cuddling her close.

“Is this okay?” he murmured, looking down to make sure she was comfortable.

“This is more than okay!” Aqua replied, grinning up at him. Her grin faltered once she realized how close they were, though she seemed more surprised than uncomfortable.

Before Rodimus could say much else, the swan jerked forward and the ride began, the two of them being led into a heart-shaped tunnel. Terrible music poured from the speakers, and Rodimus felt more than heard Aqua’s giggles.

“This is _really_ silly,” she said, leaning her head against Rodimus’.

“Yeah. I kinda dig it, though. It’s almost as ridiculous as I am.”

As they floated down the tunnel, the mood became more and more over the top. Winged human infants were painted along the tunnel walls, which were dimly lit by fake candles in an attempt to make it feel more romantic. In the very least, the cheesiness seemed to help Aqua settle down a little bit. She was practically melted in Rodimus’ arms, for which he was thankful.

They reached a speaker that was definitely turned on too loud, though once they passed it Rodimus thought he heard something else in the distance.

Was that... moaning?

Rodimus really didn’t want to know. He turned to Aqua in an attempt to drown out the sound with conversation, noting the slight discomfort on her face as well.

“So, uhh, what do you want to do after this?” he asked with what he hoped wasn’t a desperate smile.

As Aqua parsed over her answer, Rodimus realized that it was definitely moaning. Aqua shifted uncomfortably, pulling the map out of her pocket, and Rodimus released his grip around her to give her more breathing room.

“Uhh, well, we could try the ferris wheel? The view is supposed to be beautiful,” she said with a weak smile.

The moaning somehow grew louder, and she lifted the map higher as though hiding her face would block the sound. Rodimus would have laughed at the sight if he weren’t also uncomfortable. He felt every hair standing up on his body, and not in a good way. He couldn’t imagine how Aqua felt.

“Hmmm, yeah? It looks pretty cool...” he said. “The tower thing also looks like, uh, fun.”

The swans suddenly screeched to a halt, along with the moaning. At the very end of the tunnel, Rodimus could see a man with a flashlight looking inside the front ‘boat’ with a hand on his hip.

Rodimus sighed in relief. “Thank goodness. Those people should be kicked out of the... _Oh my god_.”

Once the pair of noisy lovers climbed out of the swan boat, Rodimus wanted to follow Aqua’s actions from earlier and hide behind the map in mortification.

He supposed he should not have been surprised to see Tailgate and Cyclonus being pulled out of the boat, their clothes wrinkled beyond help. Cyclonus was redder than a tomato, while Tailgate had the smuggest smile Rodimus had ever seen.

Tailgate spotted Rodimus, giving him an excited wave before both of them were yanked out of sight. Rodimus gave in to his urge to hide as best as he could, covering his face with his hands and hoping Aqua couldn’t see what had just happened.

“More of your crew?” he heard her ask.

Rodimus nodded, peeking at her from between his fingers. “Unfortunately.”

Aqua nodded, frowning a bit. “Do you, uh,” she uselessly gestured towards the duo being escorted away, “do you have to go help them out or...?”

Rodimus sighed loudly, his hands dropping from his face. “I mean... chewing out the crew is more of Magnus’ thing, but he’s allergic to fun so I doubt he’s on the surface right now. They’d probably take me more seriously anyway...” he grumbled.

“ _Many apologies for the interruption. Thank you for your patience_ ,” a voice warbled over the speakers. The swans jerked into motion once again, but the mood was beyond ruined by this point.

“Look, Aqua, I’m really sorry,” Rodimus apologized, looking down into his lap. “All I want to do is spend an afternoon with you and the crew keeps finding ways to ruin it!” He slapped his leg in frustration. “I’m sick of it! I don’t wanna be captain anymore.”

She grabbed his hands, giving them a comforting squeeze. “It’s alright, I understand,” she replied, though she definitely sounded bummed about what had happened.

“It really _isn’t_ okay, though. It should not be this hard for them to behave, they are old enough to know better!” he cried, heaving a frustrated sigh. “Anyway... I don’t know if you are willing to try again, but I was thinking we could try to go back to the beach. Would you be okay with meeting up there? Tomorrow or the next day?” he asked with a hopeful grin.

“Oh!” Aqua instantly perked up, smiling brightly at him. “Yes! Tomorrow at the beach sounds like a wonderful idea!” She squeezed his hands again as their swan exited the tunnel and the sunlight hit them. “I’ll meet you there around 10? If that’s alright?”

“Yeah, that’s perfect!” he replied, beaming down at her and squeezing her hands in return. He had no idea how this hadn’t ruined everything, but he was so thankful that she was understanding. He really didn’t deserve her, or her time, yet she agreed to allow him into her vacation once more...

He was _not_ going to frag this up.

His smile fell instantly when he saw Cyclonus and Tailgate standing by the end of the ride. Cyclonus looked rightfully uncomfortable and guilty, while Tailgate continued to look smug. Rodimus merely sighed.

“I, uh, gotta go. I’ll see you...” he trailed off, worried that he was going to curse their plans if he said them aloud. “Hope the rest of your day goes better.” He finished his sentence with a pointed glare toward Cyclonus and Tailgate, reaching an arm out to pull Aqua into a half hug.

Aqua surprised him by pulling him closer, wrapping both of her arms around him tightly. They hugged each other for a long moment before she pulled away with a grin, and they both climbed out of the boat.

He waved to her before she headed off in the other direction, a soft smile on his face. As soon as she turned her back, he whipped his head around and glared at Cyclonus and Tailgate.

_“What the fuck is wrong with you two?!”_ he demanded, stomping his foot angrily on the ground.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a fun day at the beach, what could go wrong?

“Drift, I don’t know what to wear!” Rodimus whined. He had been trying to select an outfit for nearly two hours now, and nothing seemed quite right. He was running out of time, though - they had only a few more minutes until they _really_ needed to go.

“Here, lemme see,” Drift said, picking through a few of the options. He selected a vibrant sleeveless shirt with some neutral colored swim trunks and shrugged. “I think this looks nice. Now c’mon, we’re gonna be late!”

“Alright, jeeze!” Rodimus said. He grabbed his sunglasses, towel, and shoes, and then switched into his holoform, watching his amica do the same. “You almost seem more excited to go meet up with the humans than me, the one with the date...”

Drift... blushed?

“Yeah, well, maybe I’ve got plans for the day too! Now let’s go!”

“Okay, okay! Sheesh,” Rodimus said, holding his hands up defensively. He was _so_ gonna ask about that later.

For now, they headed toward the beach. Thanks to Rodimus’ dillydallying, they had to really hurry in order to get there on time.

As they approached their destination, they noticed a huge cheering crowd in one particular area. Rodimus groaned, assuming that it was another of his crew, ruining his date before it even began, but as he and Drift got closer, he realized that Ven and Terra were sparring. His eyes scanned the crowd, and he easily spotted Aqua sitting along the sidelines, watching the match with amusement. He smiled and headed over to where she was sitting with Drift hot on his heels.

Rodimus plopped down in the sand beside her and slung an arm around her shoulders, his smile widening when she turned toward him. With his free hand, he moved his sunglasses from the bridge of his nose to the top of his head, nestling them in the fluff of his hair so he could look into her eyes without any obstruction.

When Rodimus’ gaze met hers, his smooth greeting got stuck in his throat. Unsurprisingly, her eyes were still that vibrant, gorgeous blue, easily drawing him in and putting the ocean in the distance to shame. He cleared his throat, attempting to speak again.

“Hey babe,” he greeted, his heart fluttering wildly when her grin widened at the pet name. “Me and Drift got a little held up, sorry about that."

“It’s no problem! We got here kind of early, hence the...” she gestured toward the spar. Rodimus turned to watch it for a moment with her, just in time to see Ven dart out of a grapple, sending Terra face-first into the sand. 

"Ah, I see. You getting in on any of... that?” he asked with a nod toward her friends.

Aqua shrugged. “I was going to go against the winner, but now that you’re here we can get started on this whole... date thing,” she continued, standing up and holding a hand out to help him to his feet. “Although I have to admit, I don’t really know what we can do. Any ideas?”

Once they were both upright, Rodimus took a moment to dust the sand off of his butt before turning back to Aqua. “Well... let’s see,” he said, his eyes trying to scan the beach around them to take in the surrounding activities. “I suppose we could go swimming, or... Fly some kites? Or... build a sandcastle?” 

He turned back to Aqua, who was thinking the options over carefully, also taking in the surrounding beachgoers. “Well... The weather is perfect for a swim if you want to do that?”

Rodimus nodded. “Sure! That sounds like fun,” he agreed, though he would have been happy doing just about anything as long as they'd get a chance to spend time together.

“Great!” Aqua said with a grin. “There’s a spot over there that looks pretty empty - it’s kinda far away, but I can keep an eye on my stuff and we’ll be alone?” She pointed over at the area, which was strangely devoid of any humans.

Rodimus nodded, liking the sound of being alone - much fewer opportunities for things to be interrupted or go horribly wrong. “Works for me! A little walking never hurt anybody,” he said, flipping down his sunglasses and turning toward Drift. “Hey, Aqua and I are gonna go over there,” he told him as Aqua bent down to gather her belongings.

Drift merely grunted in response, eyes glued on the fight between Terra and Ven.

Rodimus snorted. Drift could never turn down a good spar, whether he was watching or participating. Rodimus was probably the worst sparring partner ever, but he was the only one dumb enough to try and tussle with Drift, and his amica was probably dying to fight someone with real, actual skill.

Rodimus turned his attention back to Aqua, reaching out to hold her hand. “Alright, let’s go! I’m excited!”

She turned to wave goodbye to her friends before eagerly threading their fingers together. “I’m excited too!” she said, walking beside him with a wide grin and a bounce in her step.

Their journey to the quiet part of the beach only took a few minutes. They stopped in front of a small cabin that had likely been used by the lifeguards at one point, though it looked a little worse for wear now. “This should be good!” Aqua said.

She placed her bag on the ground, turning to grin mischievously over at Rodimus. “So... race you to the water?”

"Oh, you're on!" Rodimus said with a grin, tossing his towel on the ground and kicking off his shoes. Where Drift couldn't resist a good spar, Rodimus was unable to resist a race, though it'd probably be a little different in his holoform. 

They playfully sized each other up as Rodimus counted to 3... and then they were off!

They weren’t all that far from the ocean, so it was a pretty short race, but Rodimus was exhausted within moments of taking off. Did humans run around like this all the time? For _fun_? 

He really, _really_ missed his alt mode - the stabbing pain in his side and tightness in his chest made it clear that he wasn't cut out to be a human. Like, at all. 

Despite his best efforts, Aqua beat him by a landslide. Though the way she splashed into the water with a delighted squeal was adorable, and Rodimus couldn’t even be a little upset about losing. She shouted at her victory, raising a triumphant fist in the air, and Rodimus laughed breathlessly.

She was so cute.

“You sure are quick, aren’t ya? I should’ve practiced beforehand,” Rodimus said as he caught his breath.

Aqua tossed a teasing grin toward him. “I’m pretty fast, yeah. Not as fast as Ven but obviously faster than you.”

She ducked underwater as Rodimus splashed water towards her, and when she rose to the surface, she retaliated with the same. Soon, a splash battle began, the two of them swimming further and further out into the ocean, laughing as they tried to best the other.

They each fought as hard as they could, but it came to a rather sudden end when Rodimus’ foot got snagged on something and he got sucked under the surface.

Within moments, his head popped back up and he started to laugh, running a hand through his now wet hair. “I have no idea what I just stepped on, but whatever it was, it took my sunglasses...” He drifted over to where Aqua was floating, nudging her playfully. “Guess this means you won, hm?” he said with a grin, though she looked a bit worried.

“Yeah, I guess... Are you okay?” she asked, brows furrowed in concern.

Rodimus nodded, not feeling any pain, though that hardly meant anything. “I’m okay! I think. I can’t really see my feet,” he admitted.

She reached out and grabbed his hand. “Here, let’s get out of the water. Let me check it over, okay?”

“Okay,” he agreed, allowing her to lead him to the shore. He felt okay, but he didn’t want her to worry about it. And, if he was honest, all this bobbing around in the water was starting to make him a little queasy.

Before long, they were settled back on the beach. Rodimus was tracing little lines and squiggles in the wet sand with his fingers as he waited for Aqua to look over his feet. The random shapes quickly turned into big, looping hearts, and Rodimus smiled at his own corniness.

"Alright, everything looks fine," Aqua said once she was satisfied that nothing was broken or scraped. She gave him a relieved smile, crawling over to sit by his side. "What would you like to do now?" 

"Hmm... Maybe we should hang out onshore for a little bit? Just... sit back and take it easy?" he suggested.

Aqua nodded. “Good idea. We don’t want anyone getting hurt on our date!” she said, standing to retrieve their belongings. 

The trip was pretty short, and once she returned she handed Rodimus his towel. They sat quietly for a few minutes, and Aqua watched Rodimus poke at the smushy sand, smiling as he dug up a tiny seashell. 

“Hey, you wanna try building a sandcastle?" she asked. "We’re at the perfect spot!” 

“Sure!” Rodimus agreed, grinning at the suggestion. He had never really built one successfully - the only time he had tried was in his root mode with huge, clumsy hands. That day, all he really succeeded in was getting grit trapped in his delicate hand seams, and it took at least a few _weeks_ to fully dislodge the tiny grains of sand.

Rodimus knew he could do better, though. He sat up eagerly, helping Aqua build a rather large pile of wet sand - he probably got too much, but he was nothing if not enthusiastic. Aqua carefully picked out the rocks, seashells, and twigs that she found, placing them over to the side, and Rodimus began doing the same.

Before long, they agreed that there was plenty of sand, and that meant it was time to build. It was difficult to get precise shapes with their hands, but Rodimus mentally declared this a victory over his last attempt. It actually resembled a structure of some sort, rather than just a massive glob of sand.

“We work pretty well as a team,” he said, sticking a twig into the top of one of the towers they had just finished. “This is like... the coolest sandcastle I’ve ever built.”

He looked over at Aqua, who grinned as she stuck a tiny seashell into one of the towers. “Yeah! It doesn’t look half-bad, I have to admit.”

Rodimus picked up a shell of his own, wiping some of the sand off of the side as he tried to decide where he should put it. Aqua watched him closely, her lips twisting into a thoughtful frown.

“Hey, Rodimus?” she said quietly, catching his attention. “I actually wanted to-”

A loud alarm interrupted whatever she was going to say, startling both of them. 

“What’s that for, I wonder?” Rodimus mused, eyes scanning the beach. People all around were running away from the water, but there was no clear danger that he could see. He stood, helping Aqua to her feet as a deep rumble sounded in the distance. A few drops of water fell from the now overcast sky, though they could hardly be considered dangerous.

They both stood, moving to follow the other beachgoers when Aqua hissed loudly. Rodimus turned to her, opening his mouth to ask what was wrong, and then the rain _really_ started to pick up.

Aqua cried out in pain, reaching up to cover her head, and Rodimus realized that the problem actually _was_ the raindrops. He quickly scooped her up in his arms, throwing his towel over her back in an attempt to further shield her as the light shower turned into a downpour. He snatched her bag out of the sand, tucking the strap between his teeth and heading toward the only shelter in sight - the abandoned lifeguard tower. 

As they entered the rickety shelter, Rodimus noticed that it was leaking a bit in one corner, but it was otherwise structurally sound. He kneeled down, carefully setting Aqua on the floor along with her bag and using his towel to dab the water from her arms and face.

“Thank you, you really saved me,” she said when he handed her the towel, her voice breathless and shaky.

“Of course. Are you alright?” Rodimus asked, eyes bright with worry once he saw the red welts scattered along her arms and legs.

She examined her skin, hissing a bit when she moved her limbs. “I think I should be fine. I just need to... um...” She glanced up at him nervously before muttering something under her breath.

Rodimus watched in fascination as she was bathed in a bright green light, the red spots disappearing right before his eyes. He wanted to ask her what that was, but she quickly stood up and walked away from him, clearly not wanting to talk about it. Which was perfectly fine - it wasn't really his business, he supposed.

As she gazed out the grimy window, Rodimus took a moment to assess himself. He felt fine, honestly - mostly just wet and uncomfortable. And judging by his towel that was now completely waterlogged, he was probably going to stay that way for a while unless he got rid of his wet clothes. 

With a sigh, Rodimus peeled off his soggy shirt, tossing it onto the floor with a wet _plop._ As much as he wanted to remove his equally soaked swim trunks, he knew that it would be highly inappropriate to do so in front of Aqua. Being without a shirt would have to be enough.

“I guess this was abandoned a while ago since nobody came to this part of the beach?” Aqua mused as she watched the rain fall. “I remember reading that there were some weather conditions that were particularly dangerous to humans and other organic species, but I didn’t think it’d be like this...”

Suddenly, she spun around to face Rodimus, eyes wide with worry. “Wait, didn’t you get hit by the rain?”

Rodimus watched her worried expression morph into one of surprise, her face flushing brightly as she took in his half-dressed state. He fought down a smile, doing his best to regard her with a serious expression.

“It didn’t seem to hurt me like it did you,” he answered, shrugging a shoulder helplessly. “I’m... not sure why.” 

He knew perfectly well that he was fine, and _why_ he was fine. He just wasn’t ready to share that information with her yet - though, he knew that was a conversation they would probably need to have soon. 

She cleared her throat and nodded, eyes finally tearing away from his chest to focus on the floor. “Well, we are from other worlds. It stands to reason that even though we’re both humanoid, we’re different species...” she said, glancing back in his direction, though not really looking at him. “I’m not entirely sure how this rain works... Maybe it doesn’t harm your species like it does mine? Or it affects you differently?”

Rodimus nodded, realizing that she was technically correct. “Yeah, Probably. We _are_ both aliens on this planet,” he agreed.

Aqua frowned, clearly thinking something over before she marched back to where he was still kneeling on the floor. She placed a hand on top of his wet hair, muttering that word again, and Rodimus found himself being surrounded in the green light this time.

“Just in case,” she said with a shaky smile.

Rodimus still wasn’t sure what it was she was doing but decided not to press her about it. It was clearly some sort of healing... thing, and he wondered if that’s how he ended up walking away from the volleyball incident without a scratch.

Once she finished, he stood up with a soft groan. Healing spell or not, his muscles had begun to ache from being on the floor for so long. So, he headed over to the single piece of furniture in the shack - an old, dusty couch.

_Calling it a couch is rather generous_ , Rodimus thought once he sat down. It was more like a bench with cushions, though it sure did beat kneeling on tile. A happy sigh escaped him as he settled into the cushions, his back and knees already feeling loads better.

He glanced over at Aqua, who still stood over by the door. Her arms were wound around her torso, eyes looking everywhere but him. She was still soaked, and he could clearly see her shivering.

“C’mere,” he beckoned, patting the empty part of the seat, “you look cold.”

Aqua hesitated for a moment, but eventually nodded and moved to sit next to him. He quickly pulled her close, and sure enough, her skin was cool to the touch. He rubbed his palms along her arms and shoulders to help her warm up a bit faster, her shivers dying down quite a bit after a few minutes.

Despite her being obviously chilled, Rodimus could feel that her face was scalding when she leaned it against his bare shoulder. One of her arms moved to rest along his stomach, though she startled a bit when her skin met his. She mumbled an apology and pulled her hand away.

“You’re fine,” he said with a smile, rubbing her shoulder reassuringly. It was really quite endearing how flustered she was over all of this. He designed his holoform’s body in a way that personally appealed to him, but until he met Aqua, he didn’t really think about it being appealing to others as well.

Aqua let out a small laugh, cautiously putting her hand back on him. “Good thing you’re so hot, or I’d probably catch a cold.”

Rodimus snorted. “I guess it’s good for something, huh?” His smile widened as her cold fingers shyly traced along the lean muscles of his stomach, though they didn’t venture too far.

They held each other quietly for a few more minutes, and once Rodimus was certain that she was warmed up enough, he spoke again.

“Hey, weren’t you trying to tell me something? Before the weather went to shit?”

“Oh, yeah!” Aqua exclaimed, and she practically flew off of the couch with newfound energy, rushing over to her bag. After digging around for a few minutes, she pulled something out, heading back to Rodimus with her hands behind her back.

She settled back on the couch by his side, and he turned toward her with interest, leaning his back against the arm of the couch. “I wanted to give you something earlier,” she explained, “it’s nothing fancy. I just... I wanted to give you something from the heart, so I used some of the seashells I found a few days ago, and...”

Aqua’s face flushed brightly, eyes darting away as she presented the item to Rodimus - a necklace.

His eyes widened in surprise when she placed it into his hands, and he took a moment to inspect just how _detailed_ the piece of jewelry was. It was really quite lovely, with each knot, bead, and seashell placed with great care.

“Aqua, this is... this is beautiful,” he remarked, tearing his eyes away from it to look at her. “You made this?”

She nodded shyly, finally meeting his eyes.

“That’s incredible!” He reached forward, grabbing her hand and squeezing it gently. “I... thank you, I love it! It’s so much nicer than anything I’ve seen around on the surface, that’s for sure.”

She squeezed his hand back, a smile rising to her lips at his words. “I’m glad you like it. I-I wasn’t sure...”

“I do! I really do! I can tell you worked really hard on it,” he said enthusiastically.

He tugged her hand to draw her nearer to him, pulling a surprised sound from her as she landed right on his lap. “Can you put it on for me?” he asked, handing her the necklace.

“Oh! Uh, of course!” she said, blushing brightly again. Her fingers trembled a bit as she undid the clasp, and when she leaned forward to thread it around his neck, Rodimus realized the suggestive nature of his actions.

She was... _really_ close.

He could feel her chest barely brushing against his own, the warmth of her weight against his thigh, and her soft breath fanning across his neck as she focused on the task at hand. His eyes darted down her back, landing on her rear end, and he felt his face heat up straight to the tips of his ears.

Rodimus swallowed hard, trying his hardest to keep his hands to himself. He briefly wondered if this is how he was going to die, soaking wet with a beautiful woman straddling his lap.

“There!” Aqua said, leaning back to admire her handiwork.

Her hands fell on his bare chest to brace her weight, fingertips pressing slightly into his skin. His own hands betrayed his desire to keep to himself, finding their way to her sides and holding her steady. She let out a tiny breath, her eyes darting up to meet his.

Time seemed to stretch into eternity as they gazed at each other, with Rodimus' heart thundering in his ears and Aqua’s face getting redder and redder by the second.

“I, umm,” he began, licking his lips nervously, though he wasn't sure what he was even trying to say. Her eyes darted down to his mouth, then back up to his eyes, and he heard her swallow hard.

Their faces were _so close_ , and all he wanted to do was pull her forward and kiss her silly.

He took a shallow breath, moving to do just that, when a loud crash sounded from the doorway.

They both jumped as shards of wood flew through the air, a direct result of the door and the surrounding wall being smashed to pieces. Rodimus heard his name being called from the now-demolished entrance, and he turned his head to see Ultra Magnus standing there in his holoform, wearing an expression that surpassed shock. He belatedly realized that the storm must have ended, what with the soft sunlight filtering in through the giant hole in the wall.

Slowly, Rodimus’ hands released Aqua’s hips, and she got off of the couch to stand several feet away from him. He sat up as well, adjusting his pants and facing the door with a sigh.

“Hello,” Aqua meekly greeted, giving a small wave.

“Hello. You must be Aqua,” Magnus replied, his voice wavering only slightly.

“Yeah...” Rodimus said. “Aqua, this is Ultra Magnus, my second in command.”

Aqua smiled and nodded politely. “Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” Magnus said, tilting his head politely before turning toward Rodimus. “Sir, I... apologize for the intrusion, but you did not follow the ship’s emergency procedures. I had feared the worst.”

Rodimus sighed tiredly. “Yeah, well. I was a little _occupied_. Did the rest of the crew report in?”

“Yes. All 236 have reported in safe. All except for you, sir.”

Rodimus nodded, unsurprised to hear that everyone was safe. “Great.”

The three of them stood there rather awkwardly for a moment. Rodimus scratched the back of his head.

“Umm, Mags? Can I have a moment alone with Aqua? Please?”

Magnus nodded. “Of course, sir.” He turned and walked out of the shack, stopping to stand several feet away to give them privacy.

Rodimus turned to Aqua, hoping he didn’t seem too annoyed. None of it was directed at her, of course, but it certainly wouldn’t have made the situation any better. He was sure to keep his distance from her, as she was still blushing profusely, and likely didn’t want to be touched right now.

“Aqua...” he started, eyes tearing away from hers as guilt wrung deep in the pit of his stomach. He looked at his feet, belatedly realizing he must have left his shoes out in the storm. “Aqua, I... don’t know what to say. Sorry doesn’t even begin to cover it anymore,” he admitted with a shrug. “I hope there’s a way I can make all this up to you, but... if not, I completely understand.”

Aqua stepped forward, grabbing both of his hands and effectively getting his attention. “It’s okay, Rodimus. I know it’s not your fault,” she said, though it was very clear in her voice that it was _not_ okay. “I’m just sorry your crew doesn’t seem to approve of me.”

His eyes widened at her words. “What? No, babe, it’s not you. It’s _me_. You know that, right?”

Aqua nodded, though she was still frowning a little, suggesting that she didn't entirely agree with him. She thought something over for a long moment, releasing one of his hands to cup his cheek. She looked him right in the eyes as she spoke.

“I tell you what. We’ll give it one more go. You pick the time and place.” She bit her lip, looking away. “If you want to, that is.”

Rodimus held the hand against his cheek. “Of course I want to. I’m surprised that _you_ still want to," he admitted, waiting for her eyes to meet his before he continued. "How about here on the beach, tomorrow afternoon. Just you and me. And... if it all goes horribly wrong, you have my permission to slap the shit out of me.”

He wasn’t joking, since he knew he deserved that and much more, but he was hoping his bluntness would at least make her smile.

“Alright. I’m gonna hold you to that,” Aqua said, a small laugh escaping her. She smiled up at him again, though it fell rather quickly.

She tugged him forward, releasing his hands to hug him tightly, Rodimus held her back, stroking the back of her head and relishing the moment for a few minutes before loosening his grip on her.

“I guess I better go before I ruin your day any more, huh?” he said, kissing the top of her head before pulling back reluctantly. He gave her hands one last squeeze and stepped away. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow,” she echoed quietly, and he turned away. He picked up his belongings, heart squeezing painfully as he stepped out onto the beach again.

He turned and watched her step out of the shelter, putting her cell phone up to her ear as she headed back toward the other end of the beach.

“Rodimus,” Ultra Magnus said sternly.

He turned toward the voice, startling a bit when he saw Drift standing next to Magnus. His amica hand a hand on his hip, brows raised and lips curled in amusement. How long had he been there?

“I contacted you through the internal emergency commlink,” Magnus continued. “Why didn't you answer? We could have easily avoided all of this.”

Rodimus sighed. “I... may have turned it off?” he replied with a shrug. “I didn’t think I would need it.”

Magnus' brows furrowed. “Rodimus, you can’t just _turn it off_! It’s for emergencies!" he cried, voice pitched with frustration. "You are the _captain_! You should know _better_ than that!”

“I know! I do know better than that!” Rodimus replied, not caring much for getting his ass chewed out like he was a newbuild. “I just thought that you would be able to see that I was still on board, safely in recharge, perfectly fine and dandy, and that you could figure out that I was alright!”

Magnus stomped his foot, marching right into Rodimus’ personal space and prodding the center of his chest with a finger. Despite how dainty his holoform was compared to Rodimus', the action was rather intimidating, turning his next words into the command they were meant to be. 

“You _will_ turn it back on, or I’m not letting you off of the ship tomorrow, do you understand me? I don’t care about whatever you have planned, I’ll lock you up in the brig if I have to!”

“Fine!” Rodimus yelled, switching the commlink on. He waited for the soft series of beeps to sound in the back of his mind, confirming that it was active and ready to go. “There, it's on. Happy?”

“Yes! Thank you!” Magnus replied in the least thankful tone possible. He shot Rodimus a glare before turning on his heel and stomping away.

Rodimus huffed out a sigh, some of the tension in his shoulders melting away now that the lecture was over. He ran a hand over his face, willing the angry knot in his chest to loosen up so he could breathe more easily.

“Come on, Rodimus,” Drift said after a beat of silence, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. “Let’s get back on the Lost Light and get you cooled off.”

Rodimus nodded, allowing his amica to steer him down the beach and back to the ship.

* * *

Aqua walked over to where Terra and Ven were waiting for her, thankfully both safe and sound despite the dangerous weather. Luckily, they both had been close to town and were able to find shelter in time. 

Ven spotted her first, rushing over to hug her tightly.

“I’m so glad you’re alright! Terra and I were really worried about you,” he cried.

She let out a deep breath, relief washing over her as she held him. “I’m so sorry... I should have called you guys,” she replied as she carded her fingers through his hair. “I’m glad you two are okay too.”

“You must have been _really_ distracted,” Terra teased as he walked up to them.

Aqua shook her head, pulling away from Ven with a sigh. “I really don’t wanna get into it right now, okay? Let’s just... get back to our room before another storm comes through.”

Terra frowned, thankfully dropping the subject, and they all headed back toward their hotel.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright Roddy, you got one last shot. Don't fuck it up! (Also, yes, he is wearing a variation of Dan's outfit from NSP's Africa music video, don't @ me.)

Aqua stared in the mirror, running her fingers through her hair again and again. No matter what she tried to do with it, it just wouldn’t cooperate, and she was getting really annoyed.

Her racing mind only served to make her antsier. All she could think about was what had happened yesterday with Rodimus - his charming smile, those bright blue eyes, and his big, warm hands gripping her _oh so carefully_ -

She huffed in frustration, pushing the memory out of her mind for what felt like the hundredth time, turning her focus onto fixing her hair again.

“Aqua, relax!” Ven called from the couch behind her, eyes focused on the handheld game he was playing. “Your hair looks fine!”

Aqua glared at his reflection. “You haven’t even looked at me since you got up,” she replied irritably.

“Yeah, but your hair always looks nice...”

“He’s right,” Terra agreed as he walked into the room, dressed up a little more than usual. “You look great, Aqua. And I’m sure Rodimus will agree.”

Aqua sighed, finally turning away from the mirror. “I hope you're right. I just... want this to go well for once.” She shifted her weight from one foot to the other as she fidgeted with the strap of her dress.

“It will!” Terra reassured, walking forward and placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. He gave her a light smile. “You’ll both have a wonderful time, I'm sure.”

Aqua smiled back, offering him a small “thank you” before glancing back into the mirror. This was it. She swore to herself that she and Rodimus would have a nice time. And they _would_ kiss tonight, _no_ exceptions - anyone who interrupted them would undoubtedly live to regret it.

She took a deep breath, turning back toward her friends. “Ok, I’m ready.”

“Then let’s go!” Ven exclaimed excitedly, jumping off the couch and tossing his game back onto the cushions.

And with that, the trio left the hotel room.

It was considerably cooler today, thanks to the storm that had blown in the day before, but Aqua hadn’t really packed for such weather. The dress that she was wearing was probably the warmest item of clean clothing that she had in her luggage, and it was definitely designed for a hot summer day. She got chilled rather easily, so she hoped the temperature might be less noticeable once she and Rodimus were walking around.

The beach wasn’t all that far from their hotel, only about a ten-minute walk. Aqua easily spotted Rodimus and Drift from several yards away, deep in conversation. Drift noticed the trio first, perking up at the sight of them and waving excitedly.

Aqua waved back, smiling when Rodimus’ eyes met hers. Her breath caught in her throat as she took in his outfit for the evening. His faux leather jacket and trouser set would have looked absolutely ridiculous on anyone else, she was certain, but the vibrant reds and oranges complimented his hair and complexion perfectly. And the fit...

She tore her eyes away from his hips as she approached him, her heart practically doing flips in her chest. He met her halfway, reaching out to hold her hands in his.

Being so close to him and holding his hands made her racing heart speed up even more. Nerves and excitement swirled around in her belly, not slowing down one bit as he smiled down at her.

“Hey,” he greeted softly.

“Hello. You look... wonderful,” she replied. Her hands squeezed his gently, mostly to keep herself from reaching up and brushing his hair, or touching his face. Looking at him now, she was more determined than ever for this date to go right.

“Thanks,” he said, eyes darting away shyly before looking at her again. “And you’re as adorable as ever.”

“Thank you,” she said, a light flush rising to her cheeks.

She was so caught up in Rodimus that she almost forgot about the others around them. Ven gave a quick goodbye and rushed off to meet with Swerve and the others at the local ice cream parlor, while Drift greeted Terra excitedly. She finally tore her eyes away from Rodimus just in time to see the two of them hug, and she smiled at the sight before turning back to him again.

“So, are you ready?” he asked. “I’ve got big plans.”

Aqua nodded. “Yes, I’m ready to go!”

And with that, Rodimus released one of her hands to spin her around, leading her down the shoreline with a hurried pace.

“Are you going to tell me what these big plans are?” she teased.

Rodimus grinned down at her, his steps slowing down a bit. “I, well..” he made a gesture toward the beach in front of them. “Nobody’s really here today ‘cause of the weather, so I was thinking we could just have a little _alone time_.”

Alone time? The way he said it made Aqua’s eyes widen a bit, her heart speeding up at the suggestion. Did he mean...?

He raised his hand defensively, his cheeks coloring a bit. “Ah, umm, not like that. I was thinking like a walk or something,” he clarified with a shaky laugh. “And maybe afterward we can go... eat out... somewhere.” His eyes tore away from hers to stare nervously down at his feet, his blush brightening significantly.

Aqua smiled, shoving away the inappropriate thoughts that tried to pop into her head at his suggestions. Her mind was _not_ in the gutter and she was _not_ blushing at the implications, nope! (Except her mind was definitely in the gutter and her face was as red as can be, but never mind that).

She swung their hands between them as she answered, “A walk along the beach and then some dinner sounds lovely! We could hunt for seashells while we’re out!” Glancing at the ground in front of them, she spotted a bright red seashell and halted their pace. “Like this!” she exclaimed brightly, picking it out of the sand before holding it up against his jacket. “It matches your outfit.”

Rodimus sighed, some of the tension seeming to flow out of him as he exhaled. He smiled, looking genuinely surprised at the sight of the shell. “It certainly does! I’ve never seen one this color before.”

The pace of their walk slowed down quite a bit as they each scanned the sand around them. Before long, Aqua had an entire handful of shells, along with a brightly colored rock Rodimus had spotted. He didn’t quite have the eye for finding them as she did, but he didn’t rush her at all, smiling as she showed him each shell.

In truth, she was having a bit of a hard time keeping them all in one hand while the other continued to hold on to Rodimus’. “I may need to put a few of these back...” she mused, wincing as one small blue shell fell into the sand below. She supposed that she didn’t _have_ to hold his hand, and had, in fact, let it go many times to pick things up, but where was the fun in that?

She reluctantly released his hand once more, kneeling down to pick up the shell she dropped. She gasped when she noticed a sand dollar a few feet away, completely intact.

“Oh! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a whole one of these before, only pieces,” she said. She quickly, and rather awkwardly thanks to her short dress, moved closer to it to pick it up. Once it was in her hand, she stood up and spun toward Rodimus, holding the sand dollar out for him to see. He inspected it closely as a strong gust of wind blew by, causing shivers to rush through her body.

Rodimus frowned. “Here,” he said softly, holding his hands out, “I can put some of those in my pocket for you.”

Aqua eyed his pant pockets skeptically - she was almost certain that they were just sewn on for the aesthetic. Even if they were functional, his pants were rather... _fitted_ , as she had noted earlier, and probably couldn’t hold much. She cleared her throat, realizing that she was staring at something that she probably should not have been, and looked back at the shells in her hand.

He glanced down, realizing why she was hesitant to hand them over. “Ah, they’re deeper than they look, I promise! Check it out,” he reassured her, and she watched as he crammed his entire hand in one pocket. It made no sense, but Aqua trusted him. _Perhaps it’s some sort of magic_ , she thought.

“Alright,” she said, placing them carefully in his hands. He took his time putting each shell into his pocket, though they didn't even make an impression on the outside. Once all the shells were carefully deposited, Rodimus eyed her once again.

He shrugged off his jacket, revealing a well-fitted undershirt. “Here. You need this more than I do,” he said as he handed the jacket to her.

She had seen and gotten _very_ close to him shirtless the day before, but seeing him in just an undershirt still made the butterflies in her stomach start to dance. Aqua did her best to pay them no mind, however, taking the offered jacket with a quiet, “Thank you.”

“You’re pretty small, so it might not really fit...” he said.

He was right, the jacket practically swallowed her. But, it was quite comfortable and still warm from when he had been wearing it, easily keeping out the chill of the wind. The fact that it smelled like him was a wonderful bonus.

“That’s much better. Thank you so much,” she sighed, reaching out for his hand again.

Once his hand was in hers again, they continued their walk, Aqua lightly rubbing her thumb against the back of Rodimus’ hand. She looked down at their joined hands, his so much larger than hers. Between that and the jacket, Aqua found herself blurting out, “You’re really big?”

Her eyes widened at her own words. She turned her gaze down to her feet, her face as red as a tomato. “I mean. You were right about the jacket. And then your hands, and...” She should probably just. Stop. This was just making things worse.

Rodimus squeezed her hand reassuringly, tugging her a little closer to his side. “As long as it gets the job done, that’s the important thing, right?” She could feel his eyes on her, but she didn’t dare look up at him.

“Y’know... it looks good on you,” he said after a few minutes.

“Oh, really?” Aqua looked down at the jacket, using her free hand to trace the material of the collar. She felt a little silly wearing it, honestly, but the way he was looking at her made it clear that he was being truthful. She beamed at him, snuggling deeper into the warmth of the fabric, breathing in the faint smell his skin had left behind. “Thank you! Though I doubt it looks half as good on me as it does on you.”

That being said, she did quite enjoy the sight of him in just his undershirt.

“Trust me... it works for you,” he assured her with a grin. “I wouldn’t mind seeing you in my clothes more often.”

Aqua swallowed hard, deciding not to think too hard about what he was insinuating. Her eyes darted down, running along his bare arms. “I hope you’re not cold without this?”

He waved his free hand at her and smiled. “Nah, not at all. I run hot, remember?” he said with an exaggerated wink.

“Ah, yes. You certainly do,” Aqua agreed with a small laugh.

They walked quietly for a few minutes, enjoying the sound of the sand lapping at the water and each other’s company. Rodimus began humming quietly, swinging their joined hands along with the tempo of the song.

The tune seemed somewhat familiar, though Aqua couldn’t quite place her finger on it. She wondered if he sang at all; from the way he was humming, she guessed that he would be pretty good at it. Whether or not he would sing to _her_ was another matter entirely, but it didn’t stop her from thinking about it.

Serenaded on the beach. Now that was a romantic thought.

“You certainly are chipper!” she commented with a light laugh, a skip in her step that she matched to the beat of his humming. “What song is that, if I may ask?”

“I... don’t know,” he admitted with a shrug. “I heard it on the ship a while ago. I... completely forgot about it till now.”

She watched him frown for a moment, likely trying to figure out what the song was, before the cloudy expression lifted and he grinned over at her. Her cheeks warmed when he drew her a little closer, letting go of her hand to wrap his arm around her shoulders. “It goes a little something like this...”

And then he started to sing.

Aqua half wondered if her overactive imagination had taken over, if she was just making all of this up while caught in a fantasy. But no - the undeniable grip of Rodimus’ fingers on her arm let her know that he was really and truly here, singing to her. It was like a scene right out of a movie, and she was speechless.

She had been wrong. Rodimus wasn’t a _good_ singer, he was a great one! His voice was soft and soothing, but warm enough that Aqua figured it could melt chocolate. She watched him, her eyes wide and mouth agape in awe as he sang to her.

Aqua was so caught up in the sound of his voice that she barely even registered what he was singing. It was difficult to focus on the words, so nothing came to her mind beyond basic recognition. The lyrics that she could make out were undeniably corny, but her heart still fluttered in delight.

When he finished the song, he looked over at her, guarded and almost bashful. She was quiet for a long moment, her mind still racing, but then she smiled and turned to him to cup his face in her hands.

“Oh, Rodimus,” she sighed, eyes dancing as she smiled up at him. “That was lovely.”

His cheeks heated up beneath her palms, eyes darting around before settling on hers again. “I... well, thank you.” His voice was a bit sticky, and he cleared his throat before continuing. “I’m a little out of practice.”

Rodimus looked into her eyes for a long moment, clearly thinking something over. She moved one of her hands up to tuck some of his hair behind his ear, barely resisting the urge to keep running her fingers through it. He plucked her hands from his face, pulling her closer to him, and Aqua realized as he was staring down at her that they had stopped walking.

He held her hands close to his chest, his thumbs running over the skin that they could reach. “Aqua... I, ummm...” he trailed off, eyes darting all over her face.

Aqua found that she couldn’t reply, feeling as though all the air had been squeezed out of her. Her heart thudded loudly in her ears as she waited for him to continue.

A loud growl sounded between them, and Rodimus flushed brightly, glancing down at his stomach.

Aqua couldn’t help herself, she began to giggle.

“Well, nevermind that,” Rodimus said with a small laugh of his own. “You ready to grab some dinner?”

“Of course!” she said, freeing one of her hands from his so they could walk side-by-side again. “I have a place in mind, if that’s okay with you?”

Rodimus nodded. “Yeah, I’m down with that. As long as it isn’t too fancy, considering, well,” he gestured toward himself, “I’m not the best dressed for some venues.”

“Oh, please,” she said, slowing down her pace a little to give Rodimus a once-over. Her eyes did not move particularly slowly and did not linger... Well. Maybe they did. He noticed too, if his quirked eyebrow was anything to go by. “You look fine!”

She tugged on his hand, picking up the pace and taking the lead. “Lucky for you, there isn’t much of a dress code. I’ve seen people in there in just their swimsuit - we’ll be fine.”

It didn’t take too long for them to reach the restaurant, as they had been walking in the right direction the whole time. As soon as they set foot inside, Rodimus’ eyes scanned the crowd - it was rather busy at this time, but he carefully examined every patron as they stood by the door.

Aqua took a moment to look around as well, happy that she didn’t recognize anyone except for the employees she had seen the other day. Rodimus sighed with relief, his posture relaxing quite a bit, and it seemed that he didn’t see any familiar faces either.

“C’mon!” She tugged Rodimus’ hand, heading to a booth along the side of the room. “We need to get some food in you!” she said with a teasing grin. They sat down, and Aqua plucked the menus from behind the salt and pepper shakers, placing one in front of each of them.

Rodimus looked over the menu, deciding on what he wanted almost instantly. The poor guy must have been really hungry to pick something that quickly. It took Aqua a little longer to choose what she wanted, though she wasn’t particularly hungry.

“You want to split an appetizer?” she asked.

Rodimus nodded. “Yes, please. I’ll pay.”

Aqua rolled her eyes. “No, you won’t. We can split the bill, too.”

“Fine...” he grumbled, though he gave her a small smile.

As they waited for their server to arrive, Rodimus looked around the room, taking in his surroundings. “This is... nice. Thanks for bringing us here,” he said. He reached across the table to rest his hand on top of hers, smiling fondly at her.

Aqua turned her palm upward without hesitation - though they had held hands for most of the date, she couldn’t get enough of the feeling of his soft, warm hand pressed against hers.

“I’m glad you like it,” she said, leaning forward a bit, beaming across the table at him. “Hopefully you’ll like the food too.”

The longer they looked at each other, the more her smile shifted, becoming smaller, softer. “And... thank you,” she continued quietly, “for taking me out tonight. And all the other dates. I’ve had a great time with you.”

Rodimus’ face lit up at her words, though his smile wobbled a bit. “Well, you are more than welcome,” he said, “I really enjoy your company, so I appreciate that you allow me to spend this time with you.”

His smile fell then, and he shot her an apologetic look. “I just wish... some things had gone a little smoother, you know?”

Aqua nodded solemnly, recalling the numerous interruptions they had faced, silently wondering if the universe didn’t want them to be together for some reason. “Yeah. Things have been... rocky, I suppose.”

She winced as she recalled the day before, being caught in such a compromising position by one of his crew - someone incredibly important, as well. They hadn’t even _done_ anything, and yet they had been literally barged in on!

They almost had, though. Aqua sighed, ducking her head down to look at the table. She should have just kissed him then, not let her nerves get the better of her. They had been _so close!_

Still...

“But even with the interruptions, those dates were fun,” she continued. “You...” her face flushed, and she lightly squeezed his hand as she smiled up at him. “Being with you, it makes me happy. You make me happy.”

_Tonight_ , she silently vowed, _tonight I’ll kiss him._

She saw him swallow hard before he leaned forward, looking into her eyes again. His tongue darted out to wet his lips before he spoke again.

“You make me happy too, Aqua. I’m sure this is moving a little, um, fast, but it feels...” he reached up to touch the center of his chest lightly, “right. I’m happy to be here with you too,” he finished softly.

Aqua’s heart was doing flips in her chest. The way Rodimus was looking at her, how soft his voice was, the words he was saying - it was almost too much, and she was overwhelmed by the affection she felt towards him in return. As much as she wanted to respond, to tell him how she felt, she found that she couldn’t, as her throat was clogged with emotions.

The server finally arrived to take their orders, and Aqua internally cursed. Interrupted, yet again, but at least this wasn’t as extreme as the others had been. She motioned for Rodimus to go first, letting go of his hand so that she could wipe at her eyes - when had they begun to water? She coughed to clear her throat, and when it was her turn to place an order, Aqua was proud to say that her voice was almost normal.

Once their orders were placed, the server left, and Aqua was once again left alone with Rodimus. She held out her hands to him, and her heart leapt with joy when he grabbed them without hesitation.

“Maybe this is going fast,” Aqua began softly, picking up their conversation as she smiled at Rodimus once again. “But I honestly don’t mind it at all.”

Rodimus smiled affectionately at her, sending her heart fluttering all over again. “Well, that’s good. As long as you're on board with this too, that's all I care about,” he said.

His phone rattled loudly on the table. Rodimus frowned, releasing one of Aqua’s hands to move it to the seat cushion. His eyes turned back toward hers, completely tuning out the buzzing. He leaned closer to her from across the booth, his hands running up her forearms, wrapping around her elbows. Gently, he tugged her so she was scooting closer to him as well, and she felt their knees bump against each other under the table.

Not once did his eyes ever leave hers as he leaned up and out of his seat, cradling her face ever so carefully. His thumbs ran soothing lines across her skin, and she felt her cheeks heating up beneath the delicate touch. He licked his lips again and her eyes tracked the movement closely, her stomach twisting into knots as she realized what he was doing.

“Aqua, I...”

His phone began buzzing again, cutting the rest of his sentence off. Rodimus sighed, but continued to try and ignore it. He gently pulled her face toward his, and Aqua's eyes darted to his lips again before they fluttered shut on instinct.

The warmth from his palms seeped into her cheeks, and she felt his soft breath against her face as he leaned in. A shaky gasp got caught in her throat, and her fingers wound their way into the fabric of his shirt in an attempt to ground herself. Her heart almost _ached_ , beating erratically in anticipation of his lips finally meeting hers...

But... the kiss never came.

There were no lips softly brushing against hers, no noses bumping, no warmth blossoming in her chest - nothing. Nothing other than Rodimus’ hands dropping from her face.

Aqua opened her eyes, brow furrowed with confusion as she looked at Rodimus. His face was pale, his body stiff - he looked horrified, and Aqua felt her heart sink.

“Rodimus,” she said, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder, “what’s wrong?”

He braced his weight against the table, sinking back into his seat. The expression on his face was nothing short of pained as he gazed helplessly at her. His mouth opened and closed a few times, though nothing came out.

Outside of the restaurant, Aqua heard someone shout, startling her. Many of the patrons got up, talking among themselves and rushing out the door. A glance out the window revealed what appeared to be a large, angry mob.

“Something... something is wrong...” Rodimus said, clutching his temples. “There’s been an... emergency?”

Aqua deflated in her seat. While she didn’t doubt him, she couldn’t help the stab of disappointment, deep in her gut. It only worsened when he looked at her and spoke again.

“I... I have to go. I’m so sorry, Aqua,” he said, face twisted in anguish.

And then he... disappeared.

Rodimus was gone. He fizzled out of existence, right in front of her very eyes. Aqua was alone. 

The world around her became muddled and dulled, all noise distant except that of her breathing that grew more and more rapid as her panic began to take over. She all but collapsed in the booth, her body weak, her limbs feeling like jelly and bile working its way up her throat.

No, he hadn’t been an illusion all this time, she hadn’t experienced those since, since-

A sickening coldness fell over her, and Aqua reached to tighten the jacket around her, only to find it, too, had vanished.

“No,” Aqua gasped, crawling out of the booth only to gracelessly fall onto the floor. She pushed forward, though, continuing to move on her hands and knees towards where Rodimus had once been. “No, no, no-”

He had been real! She had felt him! Ven and Terra saw him! She couldn’t have just, just... imagined it all!

Right?

“Ma’am?” The voice of the server from before broke through the sound of Aqua’s panicked breaths, and she flinched when she felt a warm hand gently shake her shoulder. Suddenly, Aqua was jerked out of her panicked haze, noise from within and outside the restaurant registering once again. Aqua looked up at the server, blinking rapidly as she tried to focus on them and not the shouting she heard roaring outside. “Are you alright?” the server asked. “Where’s the young man that was here with you?”

That helped further ground Aqua, giving her the strength to stand up off the floor. The server saw him too, Rodimus had been _real_. Slowly, she shook her head. “I don’t know,” she answered, and she winced at how rough her own voice sounded, “he just... vanished.” Aqua looked out the window of the restaurant at the angry mob rushing past. “What’s... what’s happening?” she asked, pointing to the window.

The server glanced towards the window before answering, “Oh, some Cybertronians were spotted on the planet.”

“Cybertronians?” The name sounded somewhat familiar to Aqua, but she couldn’t quite place it.

The server nodded. “Yeah, giant metal aliens. They were banned from this world centuries ago. Apparently, they used some sort of... holograms to trick us,” they said, shrugging at Aqua. “Are you sure you're okay?”

Hologram? Aqua’s eyes widen as realization washed over her. Rodimus had been a hologram? He’s actually a... a...

Well, that’d explain why the acid rain didn’t hurt him.

But if... his kind were forbidden, and there was a mob outside...

Aqua scowled, her teeth grinding as she dug through her wallet, all but throwing money on the table. Oh no, she was _not_ going to be left behind! This was _not_ how their story was going to end!

The server gave an indignant shout as Aqua stormed past them and out the front door, running as fast as she could with the crowd. In the distance, she could make out the rumbling of a large ship, and fear bubbled its way up through her sudden anger. In order to not risk being left behind, Aqua summoned her armor and keyblade, transforming her weapon into her glider to fly above the crowd.

Rodimus had some things he needed to answer to.

* * *

Rodimus sat up from the recharge slab he had been laying on, looking dazedly around the Lost Light. He turned off the internal emergency comm system, effectively muting the broadcast message that had been bouncing around in his head. Looking up, he saw Magnus standing there, gripping his servo and helping him rise to his pedes. Seeing movement to his side, Rodimus turned to see Drift stir to alertness as well, his amica looking equally as confused and distressed as Rodimus felt.

The short walk to Rodimus’ office seemed to drag on for eternity, as most of his attention was focused on wallowing in his feelings. Disgust, guilt, and frustration swirled around in his tanks, making it difficult to remain on his pedes, but he managed. His spark ached deep in his chassis, the sensation worsening as he pushed the thoughts of abandoning Aqua out of his processor.

“Alright, Mags. Give me a status report,” he said.

“Yes sir,” Magnus nodded, handing Rodimus a datapad. The device was promptly ignored, as Rodimus preferred to hear reports rather than read them.

“Yesterday afternoon, an acid rainstorm developed on the surface below. You were there, you remember. During the storm, the civilians and tourists alike were warned and were told to get to safety. However... some tourists were confused, and did not make it to shelter in time.” He frowned a bit before continuing.

“A crewmember... Thunderclash spotted six organics in the rain and rushed out to help them. He managed to save them all, and, due to the nature of our holomatter avatars, he walked out unharmed. The organics weren't as lucky and had to be rushed to a hospital for their injuries. Today, a bystander that had been there noticed that Thunderclash was unscathed, and, after being demanded to explain himself, Thunderclash did so. He told them that he was a hologram.”

“Wait.” Rodimus held up a hand. “He didn’t even try to lie?”

Magnus shook his head. “No, sir. He told them everything. A fight broke out, and-”

“I don’t need to hear any more. Thank you,” Rodimus said sharply, trying not to crush the datapad he still held.

He was beyond upset. Mad? Furious? Livid? No. Rodimus was _broiling_ with anger.

Literally.

Thunderclash had one job. They all had _one job!_ Stay hidden and lie, or else they could all be killed - with a population the size of this planet’s, it would take no time at all for them to be overwhelmed by tiny organics. Why was that so hard for him to understand? Everyone else seemed to get the picture!

But no. Fragging Thunderclash couldn’t keep his heroics in check, even on vacation. He couldn’t think of a lie, before, or during, or even after his actions, and spilled their secret like it was no big deal! What was he _thinking?!_

Rodimus felt steam slipping out between the seams of his armor as he stewed in frustration. Drift grabbed his shoulder pauldron, likely to try and calm him, before yanking his servo back and hissing. “Rodimus, this is _not_ the time for that! We have to get the rest of the crew to wake up and get the hell out of here!”

Rodimus took a few deep vents, though it did little to cool his scalding frame. His processor still felt like it was swimming but he nodded, holding his helm delicately with the tips of his fingers.

“You’re right. I’m... I’m sorry,” he apologized, leaning against his desk heavily. He winced when he heard the loud sizzle, looking down to see his hand had melted part of the desktop, leaving a large, charred mark when he removed it.

He shot Magnus a glare. “As soon as we are out in space, with everyone safely onboard... Bring Thunderclash to me. I have a few words for him.”

Magnus and Drift gave each other a worried look. “Yes, sir. Very well.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe this is happening. Everything up to this point was going so smoothly, too!

One by one, the crew of the Lost Light began to respond to Magnus’ broadcast and trickle onboard. They were returning far too slowly for Rodimus’ liking, and Red Alert’s paranoid reports of the locals approaching the ship were not helping matters - he could hear him on the bridge even through the closed door.

He sighed, his helm thudding against his desk. “How many are still on the surface?” he asked Magnus.

“Eighty-four. Make that eighty-three,” he replied, optics never leaving his datapad.

Rodimus sighed again. They’d never take off at this rate! They’d be overrun with tiny furious organics, and he’d never hear the end of it. Because they’d be grounded and disassembled.

This is _not_ how he wanted to die. In all honesty, Rodimus didn’t really know how he wanted to go out, but he always kind of hoped it would be in a huge ball of fire, or something cool like that - not by being taken apart piece by piece.

_We aren’t going to die_ , Rodimus tried to convince himself. _Take deep breaths, it’s going to be okay._

Once he was a bit calmer, he found his thoughts trickling back to Aqua. Guilt stabbed at his spark, and he did nothing to try and alleviate the sensation. What he had done was unforgivable.

Perhaps this was for the best after all. Now she could find a wonderful person, an actual human being, and would love them because they weren’t as flaky as Rodimus. He had set the bar so low that she shouldn’t have any trouble finding someone who was more worth her time-

A firm touch landed on his shoulder, bringing his thoughts to a screeching halt. Rodimus lifted his head to see Drift smiling sadly at him. His amica took a seat on the edge of the desk, gathering Rodimus' servos in his own and squeezing them reassuringly.

Neither of them spoke for a long moment, but Rodimus drank in the quiet comfort while he could, allowing some of his stress and anxiety to melt away.

* * *

“Aqua!” Terra called as he pulled his glider next to hers, his voice somewhat muffled thanks to his armor. Aqua glanced his way, unsurprised to see him - he had been hanging out with Drift, right? It was likely Ven would be joining them shortly as well. “Did Rodimus-”

“Disappear?” Aqua solemnly nodded her head, “Yes. He did.” She was almost surprised by the venom in her own voice, but she supposed she was allowed to be angry given the situation.

She turned her attention to the direction that the crowd was headed, which is where she assumed the ship would be. It amazed her just how hated Cybertronians were on this planet, as even with the speed she was traveling, the mob still stretched far out in front of her.

“Aqua! Terra!” Ven’s familiar voice cried out, and soon the third of their trio was flying next to them, also donning his armor. “Swerve, Skids, Whirl - all of them! They started acting weird and then just vanished!”

“Same thing happened with Drift and Rodimus,” Terra supplied, the three of them moving in closer so they could more easily talk to each other as they flew with the crowd. “I assume this mob has something to do with it?”

“They weren’t human,” Aqua explained, willing her voice to lose its angry bite. “Or at least, not humanoid. They’re called Cybertronians, giant metal aliens who were banned from this world a long time ago. What we saw were... holograms they used to trick the locals.”

She winced, realizing that she had no idea what Rodimus even really looked like. Even if they did catch up to the ship before the locals, even if they were able to get on board, would she be able to find him? Would there be anything about him that was recognizable?

“Holograms?” Ven shouted incredulously, breaking her out of her thoughts. “But we could touch them!”

“Yeah, those have to be the most... _convincing_ holograms I’ve ever encountered,” Terra added, and something about the tone of his voice seemed... off. Aqua sent a glance his way but didn’t voice her question aloud - there were more pressing matters to deal with right now, unfortunately, and he didn't seem willing to elaborate.

Silence shrouded the trio as they flew onward. It wasn't long until they were approaching the edge of the city, and in the distance it was much easier to detect a shape that resembled a ship. Now that Aqua was able to see it, she realized that it had to be _gigantic_ \- how did Rodimus manage to land that thing without rousing any suspicion from the locals? After such an incident, security on this world was bound to tighten.

They still had quite a ways to go to get ahead of the mob, but they were making pretty good progress at least. As they neared the ship, the faint rumbles of its engine grew more noticeable; it was likely preparing for takeoff at this very moment.

Such a thing was hardly a hindrance to Aqua, Terra, and Ven, as they could easily follow the ship into space if they needed to. Getting on board would just be a little more challenging in that situation.

After a few more minutes of quiet, Ven flew a bit closer to Aqua, finally speaking up. “Aqua... are you okay?” he asked, and she could practically see the concerned look on his face through his helmet.

She considered his question for a moment. Aqua was... definitely _not_ okay right now. She had anger, disappointment, anxiety, frustration, and hurt all swirling around in the pit of her stomach, but she was trying her best to force it down. There was no time to dwell on it right now, she had to focus on the task at hand. She could sort through her feelings later.

“I’ll be okay,” she softly answered. 

It didn’t exactly answer Ven’s question, but he accepted it with a nod before flying closer to Terra. “And you, Terra? You’ve been quiet too,” he asked.

“I’m fine,” Terra replied without missing a beat, effectively ending the questioning then and there.

Aqua frowned. The rather blunt response made it pretty clear that he didn't really want to talk about it right now. Evidently, he and Drift were better friends than she had initially realized. 

She could only hope that this would turn out alright for everyone involved.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden wave of smoke and dust that rushed toward them. This, combined with the increasingly loud rumbles made it apparent that the ship would be taking off soon, likely entering its launching sequence at this very moment.

* * *

Finally, _finally_ , they were preparing for takeoff!

Rodimus wasn't ready to celebrate just yet, though. He stood on the bridge, trying his best to look every bit the calm, collected captain that he was supposed to be in such a situation.

“Mags, re-check the roster, would you? I am not leaving anyone behind,” he said. Another sharp pang of guilt speared him right in the spark as soon as the words were out of his mouth, but he shook it off. He could feel sorry for himself later once he and the crew were out in space.

“Yes sir,” Ultra Magnus said, doing as he was asked even though he had already checked twice now.

The bridge crew waited patiently, carrying on with the launch sequence as they waited for Magnus to continue. Surprisingly, not even Megatron rushed Rodimus. He had a deep frown etched into his faceplate, but said nothing, merely leaning quietly against one of the consoles and letting Rodimus handle things for now. Rodimus tried not to read too far into it, taking advantage of the situation to show that he could do his job just fine.

“Sir, we don’t have time for this! The organics are coming toward us in throngs! They’ll be here any moment!” Red Alert cried after a few minutes, his servos slamming against the console. “Some of them are even flying toward us, for crying out loud!”

Rodimus barely resisted the urge to roll his optics. What did it matter? It wasn’t as though they could fly around in space!

“Red Alert, I don’t want you to open your mouth again until they are within _footsteps_ of the Lost Light, do you hear me?” Rodimus snapped. “I am the captain of this ship, I believe I know how to handle an evacuation.”

The chief of security mumbled something under his breath, but Rodimus decided to ignore it.

Magnus held up a servo, catching everyone’s attention. “Everyone is on board, Rodimus. We’re clear for takeoff.”

Rodimus nodded, gesturing toward Blaster and Nautica, who were filling in at the bridge controls. “Get us out of here.”

The entire ship rumbled as it struggled to lift off of the ground. Considering the ship’s size, it would take quite some time for it to completely break free from the planet’s gravity and leave the atmosphere, but everyone on the bridge let out a sigh of relief anyway.

* * *

The ship was definitely rising off the ground now.

Aqua wasn’t sure if she was relieved or not by this realization. This planet didn’t have the best when it came to defense, so there was no easy way for anyone who actually cared to chase after the ship and shoot it down. Them getting off the planet was definitely for the best for everyone’s safety, but it also meant getting on board would be harder for her and her friends.

And Aqua _was_ getting on board. She was not about to be left behind.

“Come on!” she shouted, forcing her glider to its limit. She didn’t look back to see if Terra and Ven had done the same, but she could hear their gliders flying next to hers. It took a lot of their own energy and magic to push their flight onward, but it was worth it when they finally broke past the front of the crowd. She knew they would all be feeling it later, but she didn’t care right now.

Once they made it to the ship, they would have to find a way inside of it. Then they would need to figure out which one was Rodimus, and Drift, and Swerve, and Skids... all the others of the crew they had met. Luckily, between the three of them they knew a good handful, so hopefully that would help matters some.

_How will I even know who is who?_ she wondered again. She didn’t even know what they looked like, only a vague description thanks to the server at the restaurant. That had hardly been enough information to really prepare her, but she supposed it would be better than flying in with nothing to go off of.

Her gut tugged itself into tight knots as they continued to approach the rising ship. She wasn’t even sure what she’d say to Rodimus, once she did finally see him. There were so many questions rattling around in her brain, though one certainly stood out from the others.

_Why?_

* * *

Despite Rodimus knowing of the incredible mass of the Lost Light, its slow but steady ascent still made him uneasy. His pede tapped nervously against the metal floor, though he had drowned out the sound of it long ago, far too absorbed in his thoughts.

“Rodimus, stop fidgeting,” Megatron said tersely. It was the first time he had spoken up since they all met up on board, and Rodimus should not have been surprised that it was in the form of a reprimand.

He felt a comforting pat on his shoulder, and he turned to see Drift smiling at him. “You’re doing fine, Rodimus. You wanna come sit with me?” he asked, pointing to the back of the bridge.

Rodimus shook his head. “You go on ahead. I’m not relaxing until this planet is a tiny speck in the rearview mirror.”

Drift nodded, heading to sit at an unmanned console near the door. Rodimus wanted to join him, take a moment to try and clear his thoughts a bit, but... he knew that his responsibility of keeping his crew safe came first.

Around him, the bridge was silent. The further the ship got from the planet’s surface, the more Rodimus found that his nervousness slipped away. As much as he had doubted their survival at the beginning of the evacuation, he was confident now that they would be able to break free of the planet for good.

The small amount of patience that had returned to Rodimus was instantly ripped away from him again when Red Alert spoke up.

“Captain,” he said, drawing the attention of everyone on board. “Those flying organics I mentioned... They’re gaining on us. Quickly.”

Drift stood up, returning back to where he had been standing next to Rodimus. “Aren’t we too high up? Like, for them to breathe?” he asked.

Magnus nodded. “Indeed. I would think that they'd perish this high off of the ground.”

“Well, they aren’t,” Red Alert replied sourly. “They’ll probably come into contact with the Lost Light in a few minutes. Let’s hope they won’t be able to find a way on board...”

Megatron stepped over to Red’s station, looming over his shoulder to eye the radar. “There are only three of them. Surely they can't be much of a threat in such small numbers...?” he said.

Rodimus shook his head. “Maybe not, but we should still be cautious. We won’t blow them out of the sky or anything, but I want you to keep an eye on them, Red.”

“Sir... what if they _do_ attack us?”

Rodimus rolled his eyes. “Then we’ll retaliate. Otherwise, there’s no need to shoot at them.”

“But sir... what if they come on board?”

“Red, I'm sure we can take care of this in a civil manner. We have plenty of shuttlecraft to send them back to the surface,” Rodimus replied, turning his head away to let the head of security know that he was finished with this particular line of questioning.

Thankfully, Red stayed quiet, turning his attention back to the screen in front of him.

* * *

It felt like it took forever for them to finally reach the ship, but all three friends were glad once they did. They flew around the outside of the vessel, each looking for a way on board. The size of this thing was rather impressive, especially up close. It was so large that Aqua couldn’t help but wonder just how “giant” Cybertronians truly were, especially when she recalled Magnus mentioning that the ship carried a crew of just over 200.

“Over here!” Ven called, catching the attention of Aqua and Terra. “I think I found a door!”

Quickly, the three grouped together around the large door. With practiced ease, Aqua jumped off her glider and onto Terra’s, allowing her glider to return to its original keyblade state. She held tightly onto Terra’s shoulder with her free hand as she aimed her weapon at the door.

“You said they were metal aliens. Do... do you think they even need to breathe?” Ven asked uncertainly next to her.

“I don’t know,” Aqua responded as the tip of her keyblade began to glow. “They obviously can live in an environment with oxygen, but who can say if they really need it.”

“Then we’ll keep our armor on until we know for sure,” Terra said, “Better to be safe than sorry.”

Aqua and Ven nodded in agreement. It was then that a beam of light flew out from Aqua’s keyblade and into the door, unlocking it and allowing it to slide open with ease. They rushed inside before anything could be flung out or the door closed on them, and it was only due to the strength of the magic in their armor and the speed of their gliders that the vacuum didn’t suck them out of the ship again.

Once inside, the door quickly sealed shut and a loud alarm began to blare overhead. Aqua hopped off the back of Terra’s glider, allowing him to transform it back to his keyblade, while Ven did the same with his own. They were given no time to relax from their hurried entrance as heavy thumps filled the area, putting them all on high alert. They waited tensely for the source of the footsteps and were soon greeted by a...

Well.

“Giant, metal alien” was certainly an apt description.

The massive blue robot stared at the trio with wide, glowing eyes. They didn't appear to be armed, or, at least, they weren't brandishing a weapon _yet._ Aqua stepped forward, opening her mouth to demand to be taken to the captain of the ship when a familiar voice filled the room over the loudspeakers, cutting her off.

“ _Attention everyone: this is your captain speaking,_ " it said. Aqua’s heart skipped a beat in recognition - Rodimus definitely sounded different, though she couldn’t be sure if that was due to him being in his natural state or if it was distorted by the speakers, but there was no denying that it was his voice.

" _There’s been a breach on Deck 4. Trespassers have made their way onboard and could potentially be dangerous. Do not confront them. Please calmly make your way to a safe location, such as your habsuite. We are putting the ship on lockdown in two minutes._ ” There was a brief pause before he spoke again, wrapping the message up. “ _‘Til all are one._ "

Nobody moved for a long moment until the Cybertronian’s body began to suddenly change. Every part of their body began to shift, moving around and compressing until they no longer looked humanoid, instead looking closer to some kind of... car? Though it wasn't like any car Aqua had ever seen before. 

“Whoa...” came Ven’s amazed voice, and Aqua found she shared the sentiment. “They can turn into _cars_?!”

The vehicle then quickly made a U-turn, bolting through the open doorway and screeching down the hallway, heading far away from the three humans. A few voices could be heard in the distance, followed by more loud thumping footsteps and screeching tires. The ruckus died down after a minute or so, leaving the three humans in baffled silence.

“Apparently so,” Terra answered as they all walked over to the open door. His head tilted curiously as he looked down the hallway the Cybertronian took off in, regarding their surroundings warily. 

“That's awesome! I wonder if they all can do that...” Ven continued, still awestruck by what had just occurred. “Why would they choose to look like a boring human when they normally look so cool?”

Aqua hummed, not really sure how to respond. She glanced around the hallway for any sign of other Cybertronians, finding nothing more than some skid marks on the floor. The doors lining the hallway were all shut, likely locked, which was probably for the best. She didn't want to risk any sort of confrontation until she found Rodimus.

“Come on,” she instructed as she took off down the hallway, her armor clanking against the metal floors as she ran. Terra and Ven quickly followed, all three of them on high alert in case any of the giant aliens decided to take matters into their own hands despite the direct order from their captain.

Their trip down the hallway was very quiet, none of the trio daring to speak another word and attract unneeded attention their way. The silence only served to make the whole situation tenser - the only sounds they heard were their own footsteps and the hum of the ship’s systems, along with the occasional muffled voice from behind a closed door. It was unnervingly quiet, though Aqua didn’t let it distract her from their goal.

They avoided the locked doors, keeping to the open paths in the hopes that it would eventually lead them to where they needed to go. This fortunately meant that they didn’t run into any company, though they could occasionally catch glimpses of Cybertronians peeking at them around corners. They didn't see many, and none of them did anything more than look, but the eerie glow of their alien eyes meant that there was no denying that the trio was being watched.

“Maybe we should’ve used our gliders,” Ven finally spoke after a while, a heavy sigh escaping him. “I know we need our keyblades at the ready just in case but... this is taking forever. This ship is as big as the city had been!”

Terra shook his head. “No, we need-” he started to answer, though he was interrupted when the unmistakable sound of a car engine reached their ears.

All three of them froze, tense and ready to jump out of the way of whoever was racing towards them. A sleek red and white car swerved around the corner, screeching to a stop just in front of them before it began to transform. Instantly, all three drew their keyblades, prepared for the worst as the Cybertronian towered above them - not the largest being that Aqua had ever encountered, but certainly much taller than she or her friends. Like the vehicle, their robotic frame was primarily white with accents of red and black, and they had distinct twin spines adorning the top of their head.

Rather than reach for the sword strapped to their back, the Cybertronian merely kneeled down on the floor. Their movements were graceful despite their size and they moved slowly, as though they were trying to appear non-threatening, but Aqua remained ready to defend herself if need be.

Aqua could sense Terra tensing at her side, though she didn’t dare to take her eyes off of the Cybertronian to look at him.

The massive being leaned down further, presumably taking a closer look at the trio. They curled a hand around their chin as a soft, contemplative hum rose from their body. Their eyes darted over to Terra, their bright blue eyes squinting thoughtfully at him.

After a moment, the Cybertronian spoke in an eerily familiar voice, though it was full of doubt and confusion.

“Terra?” they guessed, their eyes moving slowly between the entire trio. “Ven? Aqua? Is that who you all are?”

Terra relaxed instantly, his keyblade disappearing in a flash. Ven and Aqua exchanged a look, trusting their friend and relaxing as well - though their keyblades remained drawn. Just in case.

“Yeah,” Terra said, his helmet tipping upward as he looked at the huge bot. “Are you... Drift?”

“Yeah! I’m Drift,” the Cybertronain replied, a huge smile stretching across their face.

Aqua glanced back at the Cybertronian, and as their face lit up with recognition, it clicked into place in her mind. Of course, that was Drift - the creamy white of his paint matched his hair perfectly, and the general structure of his robotic body was quite similar to the hologram that Aqua remembered. The voice was very similar as well, though it almost sounded... metallic?

Drift sighed happily, his whole frame sagging with relief. “I’m so glad to see you all, I...” He frowned, clearing his throat and regarding Terra cautiously. “Well. I have a lot of explaining to do, don’t I? I’ll just... take you guys to the bridge. It’ll take you forever to get there if you walk,” he said as he stood up.

He stepped back a few paces and changed back into a car, and, now that Aqua wasn’t as worried about being attacked or stepped on, she took a moment to appreciate just how seamless the transformation was. Once it was complete, the doors flipped open, and a voice was heard from inside the vehicle.

“Alright, get in,” he said, though he sounded a bit... hesitant.

None among the trio moved at first, all of them a bit uncertain. They had never really spent time in something that was... _alive_ , not like this at least. After a moment, Terra shrugged, ducking inside to the vehicle. “Come on,” he beckoned from within.

Ven needed little more convincing, whisking away his keyblade and eagerly hopping in. “This is so weird...” he muttered as he took a seat next to Terra. “Very cool, but very weird. Is this weird for you, Drift? Can all of your kind do this?”

It was amazing how quickly Ventus adjusted to the idea of Cybertronians. He had only learned of their existence within the past hour and was already filled to the brim with curiosity - he truly was a wonder.

“Yes, Ven, it is very weird. It’s kind uncomfortable, to be honest, but it’s much quicker and easier than carrying all of you,” he said, chuckling almost awkwardly. "And yes, this is what we're known for, though there are a few of us that do not have an alt mode - erm, they don't transform into anything."

Aqua hesitated only a moment longer than Ven, but soon she, too, put her keyblade away and crawled inside. Once she was seated and the doors were closed, she voiced her own question: “Are you going to... to take us to Rodimus?”

She heard the distinct _click_ of the doors locking on either side of them, and Drift made a quick U-turn, speeding down the hallway and heading back the way he'd come from.

Drift hummed in affirmation. "Yeah, we'll be going to the bridge, and Rodimus will be there. Is that... okay?”

“Yes,” Aqua answered with a slight nod. “Yes, that’s okay.”

She sighed, all of the anger and venom she had held before starting to seep out of her. The entire day’s events seemed to finally catch up with her and now, more than anything, she just felt... exhausted.

Terra reached around Ven to pat her on the shoulder, while Ven leaned to give her a hug. The kind gestures were made rather awkward with the armor that they were wearing, but she appreciated the intention behind their actions anyway.

“Drift... is there oxygen on this ship? If we remove our armor, will we be able to breathe?” Terra asked, seeming to read Aqua’s mind at that very moment.

“Yep, go ahead! Make yourselves comfortable,” he said.

All three of them sighed with relief, and in almost synchronized unison, they each hit the metal on their shoulders. In a flash their armor was gone, leaving them in the clothes they had been wearing underneath. Aqua was still in her breezy sundress, while Ven had lost the plaid button-up he had been wearing and was left with just his white undershirt and shorts. And Terra...

Aqua and Ven each raised an eyebrow at Terra’s half-dressed state, donning only a pair of sweatpants.

“Uhh... Is that a hickey?” Ven asked, amusement coloring his tone.

In an instant, one of Terra’s hands shot up to cover a dark mark on his neck, a bright flush overtaking his face. Ven chuckled, shaking his head and gesturing toward the one on Terra’s chest. “I’m talking about that one.”

Terra frowned before he hastily covered that one too. The action drew a surprised giggle out of Aqua, though she was admittedly still a bit confused.

“Sorry Terra,” Drift said, though he hardly sounded sorry at all - and then it all clicked in Aqua’s mind.

Oh. So _that’s_ what Terra and Drift had been doing.

Huh. 

She glanced at Ven, exchanging a wide-eyed look of surprise with him. He seemed equally as shocked, though the curl to his lips made it clear that he was trying very hard not to laugh.

Before Aqua could ponder further over Drift and Terra’s... activities, Drift screeched to a halt, flipping the doors open again.

“We’re here!” he announced brightly, sounding more than ready to get them _out_ of his interior.

All three eagerly piled out of Drift, just as ready to end his suffering. They stood outside what was apparently the ship's bridge, all taking a moment to adjust to being on their feet again. Drift followed suit, transforming out of his car form and stepping carefully over the trio.

As he typed a code into the panel on the wall, Aqua stared up at the rather intimidating door in front of them. Rodimus sat just on the other side. She honestly couldn’t quite tell what she was feeling at the moment. Her earlier anger had mostly fizzled out, but it wasn’t quite gone. She still felt resentment, still felt some panic - but more than anything she was just nervous. 

Would she be able to recognize Rodimus? Was he as tall as Drift? How would he react to seeing her?

The doors to the bridge to slid open with a _swish_ , and Aqua was almost overwhelmed with the sight that met her eyes.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of good old-fashioned communication happens in this chapter. Aqua explains some stuff, and Rodimus does his best to make things right. 

The attention of everyone on the bridge snapped straight to the door as it opened, revealing the three tiny humans standing in front of Drift.

Nautica immediately spotted Ven, rushing toward him and talking with rapid excitement, while Magnus blushed brightly and quickly excused himself from the bridge - likely when he spotted Terra’s state of undress, which...

Primus, Drift really _had_ been busy, hadn’t he? Rodimus was still a little surprised by that development, if he was honest with himself, though he supposed he shouldn't have been. 

Rodimus shook the thought from his mind, looking down at Aqua with a soft, sad smile. She looked... tiny, upset, and confused, and it made his tanks twist with discomfort. He quickly made his way towards her, his approach causing her attention to be instantly drawn up towards him. He noticed a spark of recognition in her eyes as he kneeled down in front of her, hunching his back so that he wasn’t as intimidatingly huge.

“Hey, Aqua. I am... so sorry,” he told her softly. “I have a lot of explaining to do, but I'm _so_ glad to see you. I thought...” He trailed off, shaking his head again. No. Now was not the time for that. Not in front of everyone.

Aqua walked toward his foot, swatting at it gently with her hand. Rodimus frowned in confusion until she looked up at him with a shaky and watery smile.

“You said I could hit you if we got interrupted again, so... there we go.”

Aqua started to wobble a bit on her feet, and Rodimus’ hands shot out on instinct to catch her before she fell. She leaned heavily against his fingers, and he had to swallow down the stress and various emotions that threatened to overwhelm him at the sight.

“C’mere,” he said, gently scooping her up and standing off of the floor. “We have some things we need to discuss privately.”

He turned toward his co-captain, who looked utterly bored. “Megs, would you mind taking the helm?”

“Not at all,” Megatron replied. “Even without the organics here, I would have sent you to your habsuite as soon as we went into orbit. You're far too stressed out to carry on up here.”

Rodimus felt his face scrunch up at the bot’s thoughtfulness but didn’t question it. The old rust bucket's behavior was something to ponder over at another time - for now, he slowly headed toward his office with a sniffling Aqua in hand. As much as he wanted to have this discussion in a more comfortable place, such as his habsuite, he didn’t want to give Aqua any sort of wrong idea. A room with a desk and chair had fewer implications than one with a berth.

And his habsuite was a complete and utter wreck, but that was beside the point.

As they entered Rodimus’ office, he felt a slight tickle along the palm of his hand. Looking down, he realized that Aqua was tracing along one of the seams of his servo. When she laid her palm flat against his own, he felt a sad smile cross his features.

Looks like they wouldn’t be holding hands again anytime soon - not in the way they were used to, anyway.

Rodimus pushed those thoughts away, locking the door behind him and taking a seat behind his desk. Aqua looked around the room with interest before she stood up on Rodimus’ hand with wobbly legs. He frowned at the wet trails running down her flushed cheeks.

“You can, ummm, sit there if you want. Or on my desk, it’s up to you,” he said. 

She nodded, sniffling loudly, before sitting down on his hand again.

It was hard to not draw her close to his chest - he wanted so badly to hug her, but there was obviously no way that would actually work. Being so huge compared to her made it rather difficult for him to communicate how he felt with touch. He would have to use his words this time, something he was much less confident with.

“So, I imagine you have quite a few questions. I’d be happy to answer anything for you. Honestly this time,” he said, continuing to speak quietly so as not to spook her too much. “If you would rather talk to my... the hologram of me you knew before, let me know, okay?”

Aqua seemed to consider his offer, though her face grew pale and she quickly shook her head. “No, this is fine,” she said, her voice breaking a bit. She swiped at her eyes and cleared her throat before she tried to speak again.

“You... I...” she stammered, shaking her head as though trying to clear her thoughts.

She took a steadying breath and turned her gaze up toward his face, blinking slowly as she looked at him. She sat in a thoughtful silence, taking a moment to study his features. It was a challenge for Rodimus to not feel self-conscious under her eyes, but he didn’t want to rush her, so he sat as still as possible and waited for her to continue.

“You could’ve told me,” she finally said, turning her face down to look at her hands. “I already knew you were an alien. You could’ve said that I was interacting with a projection.”

Rodimus felt his spark twist uncomfortably when he detected the hurt hidden behind her watery voice, but he pushed his discomfort aside. Whatever he was feeling mattered little in the grand scheme of things.

“You’re right, and I should have.” His eyes darted away. “I was... I was going to tell you. Earlier tonight? But... this probably sounds really stupid, but I was terrified. There’s a reason why my kind is forbidden on that planet, and I didn’t know if you knew. But that doesn’t mean it was right to pretend I was a human.”

He took a deep, calming vent, looking back at her once again.

“After the acid rainstorm... when you realized that I wasn’t injured? That’s when I should have said something. It wasn’t fair to keep the truth from you for that long, when fate gave me a very clear and obvious hint to be honest with you.”

Aqua huffed and nodded. “It would’ve been the perfect moment. But... I guess I can’t really blame you for hiding it. Not after seeing the mob and all that.” She shrugged, hands playing with the hem of her dress to keep themselves busy. “I kept my share of secrets too. It’s just.” She closed her eyes and heaved a sigh, her whole body shuddering before looking back up at him. “It was... quite a shock.”

Her eyes darted down to her hands again. “If you ever do use your hologram again, please... just... give me a warning, before you turn it off?”

“Yeah, no, of course!” Rodimus agreed instantly. “I wouldn’t have done so to begin with, but... well, it doesn’t matter. I _did_ do it, and it clearly upset you.”

Rodimus raised his free hand to carefully brush her shoulder with his fingertip. He was barely touching her, but he was honestly terrified at the thought of accidentally hurting her with his huge, clumsy frame. Still, he wanted to comfort her with more than just his words, and he hoped that this was working.

Aqua leaned into his touch, sniffling slightly as she did so. “Thank you,” she said softly.

She was silent for a long moment, looking up at him again, though her eyes trailed down his frame some before they returned back to his face. 

“I get why you’re hot now,” she said, gesturing toward him. “The fire theme is nice.”

Rodimus snorted at the unexpected comment, a flush rising to his cheeks. “Well, thank you. I’m glad you like it. I almost took it a little too far after I got on board earlier...” he said, now hoping that she hadn’t noticed the char marks on the desk and chair.

Oops.

He carefully brought her closer to his face so he could get a better look at her. She seemed to have calmed down considerably, for which he was thankful. He would have given anything to be able to kiss her tears away for good, but alas, his mouth was just too big. So, he settled for nudging her gently with his cheek instead, his engine purring loudly.

Unbelievably tiny human hands grasped at his cheeks, and he heard Aqua giggle quietly. Her skin wasn’t as warm against his face as he was used to, though Rodimus supposed that that was because he was warmer in his true form. Despite how small her hands were, he could detect that they were just as soft, something that he was grateful for.

Rodimus could have sworn he felt the lightest tickle against his face, though it was too faint to tell exactly what it was that had touched him. Her nose, maybe?

“I should’ve kissed you earlier,” she murmured, voice quiet. “When I gave you that necklace... And, y’know, I probably should’ve made the necklace a bit bigger.”

Rodimus snorted, leaning back a bit so he could look at her. “I’m gonna keep the one you gave me anyway. I... don’t know when I’ll go back to my holoform again, but you better believe I’m gonna wear it.” He smiled at her, patting his subspace pocket. “I have your shells too, if you wanna take them home with you later.”

Aqua beamed up at him. “I... thank you, I’d love to keep them,” she said. “I just... well, you know. No pockets.”

Rodimus nodded at her, sighing softly. “Y’know, I feel like a real shaft. Not just for totally abandoning you, but also because I left you hanging. Twice."

If only he had just gone through with the kiss that afternoon and had left the panicking for afterward! But no. He messed around and tried to wait for the perfect moment and then everything fell apart.

“I know you probably still need time, but don’t think I’m not gonna kiss you as soon as you’re comfortable with my holoform again. I’ve been thinking about it for _days_ ,” he said quietly. “Ever since that ridiculous love tunnel thing.”

Aqua let out a small laugh. “Believe me, I’ve been thinking about it just as much. I wanted to kiss you so many times, but...” she shrugged helplessly at him. “It was all so new to me. My life up until this point didn't have much room for dating so I found myself just... floundering about, trying my best to get things right.”

Her head dipped downwards, eyes drifting down to the servo beneath her. One of her hands dropped down, tracing tiny, ticklish doodles along his palm before she continued.

“And,” she continued, voice softer, “it... isn’t so much that I’m uncomfortable with your... holoform. I’d love to see it again.” Aqua sighed heavily, ceasing her doodling to press her palm against his. “Part of it is just. I want to get used to this you, the real you. It wouldn’t be fair if we spent all of our time together with you in a disguise.”

Rodimus sensed that she wasn’t quite finished, so he held his glossa and allowed her a moment to gather her thoughts. He watched her as she bit her lip, clearly contemplating something, before she spoke up again.

“The other part is that... a while back, for a long time, I was... trapped somewhere, by myself.” Aqua squeezed her eyes shut, her brows drawing together.

“It was a place that messed with your head, and it... made me see things. People I knew, places I’ve been, my friends... I’d chase after someone, only for them to disappear before I reach them or dissolve when I touched them. When you just... vanished, I panicked and for a moment thought I was back there, that everything we did was just in my head.”

She took a shaky breath and opened her eyes, though she didn’t look at him just yet.

Rodimus sat there quietly for a long moment, absorbing what she'd just told him. He knew of dark places that affected Cybertronians in a similar manner and was well aware that bots were never the same if they managed to make it out alive. The thought of Aqua being trapped in such a place made his tanks churn - she was obviously tougher than she looked, but that didn't mean she deserved to endure such a thing.

And, with this new information, the reaction she'd had to his literal disappearance suddenly made a lot more sense. It was beyond being upset: it took her back to a traumatic time, and that thought sent guilt straight to his spark again. All those little apologies sounded rather silly now, as they couldn’t have possibly done anything to make her feel better, yet another one made its way out of his vocalizer.

“I’m sorry you had to go through that. That sounds... beyond horrible,” he said, raising a couple of fingers to stroke along her back soothingly. “And I’m sorry that I, umm, took you back to that place, whether I meant to or not. Thank you for telling me, though. I think... I think I understand now.”

He brought her close to his face again with the intention of kissing the top of her head, but, well... it didn’t quite work. He mostly just ruffled her hair beyond help.

So much for that.

Aqua giggled, her hands reaching up to comb through her hair. “Thank you,” she told him, smiling widely up at him.

Her smile faltered a bit. “And... it’s, well. I mean, it’s not _okay_ , that place was awful, but... I’m getting better. Terra and Ven are too. That was the main reason we took this vacation, to recover and relax after... everything we all went through.” She shrugged. “I’d say, aside from what just happened, it’s been a success.”

Rodimus smiled down at her. “Well, that’s good at least. I still feel really bad for tearing you away from it so early, but I would be happy to make it up to you somehow,” he said. He wasn’t sure how exactly he could even make things up to Aqua at this point... he couldn’t buy her anything, or take her anywhere, or even feed her.

That was... a problem. He would definitely need to talk to Magnus about getting some food onboard if the humans intended to stay for much longer.

So a fancy dinner was out. A big gift was out. Kissing her was out. What else could he do to make her feel better, show her that he cared?

A little idea wiggled into his processor, and he smiled.

“This isn’t exactly a recreational ship, so our choices are pretty limited, but... would you like to finish our date?" he offered. "I understand if you’re exhausted and would rather not, but it’s the least I can offer after completely ruining the one we were on.”

A beautiful smile blossomed on Aqua’s face at the suggestion. “Yes! Yes, I would love to finish our date,” she eagerly agreed.

Rodimus beamed down at her, his spark whirring at her response. “Great! I know just the place we can go,” he said excitedly, standing up slowly from his desk. He held Aqua securely against his chassis, fingers curled around her protectively. His grasp wasn’t too tight, of course, so she could still peek over or through his fingers if she wanted to as they headed through the ship.

Hopefully, this would be enough to smooth things over between them.

* * *

Now that she had properly calmed down and was safely traveling with Rodimus, the walk through the halls of the ship was far more interesting. She enjoyed looking at the design and structure of the vessel, mentally comparing it to the few other spaceships she’d been aboard. They were all fairly similar in some ways, though this was certainly one of the largest ships she had ever been on.

Seeing other crewmembers in the hallway, now in their true form and with her no longer being perceived as a potential threat, was also interesting. They all came is such a variety of shapes and sizes and colors, and she found herself wondering what they all could transform into.

Among the few that stopped to talk to Rodimus were Tailgate and Cyclonus, who she recognized from the fair. Seeing their true form was strange because the human forms they had chosen looked so similar to their bot forms but... also quite different. They were fairly polite, as were all the crewmembers they encountered, and she did her best to be polite in return.

When they reached their destination, Rodimus typed a code into the door, smiling down at her when it locked with an audible _thunk_.

“There, no more interruptions! For real, this time,” he said.

Aqua couldn’t help but sigh in relief at his words. At last, they could do this properly.

He turned around, and Aqua took in her surroundings. She guessed that this was some sort of observation deck - a large, dark room lined with windows that looked out into the blackness of space. There were little tables and seats scattered throughout the place, but it was unoccupied aside from Aqua and Rodimus.

“So,” she began, her voice echoing slightly in the space, “what’s the plan?”

“I’m glad you asked!” Rodimus said as he headed over toward one of the chairs, sitting down carefully. His hand unfurled completely, and he pulled it away from his chest.

“I... uhh. Don’t really have one,” he admitted after a moment, glancing down at her. “I just knew I was not about to end this evening in my office... that is like, the lamest date I could ever think of. _‘Hey Aqua, wanna help me finish some paperwork?’_ ” he said in a silly voice.

Aqua covered her mouth as she giggled. “Fair enough,” she said around the laugh. “An office date isn’t exactly the peak of romance, I suppose.” Though, she wouldn’t have minded either way, so long as they were able to spend time together and finish this date properly.

“Yeah, exactly! I... hope you don’t mind just sitting with me for a little bit,” he said, looking down at her. He observed her, frowning a bit before reaching into his... magic-chest-pocket-thing and pulling out what appeared to be a giant washcloth. Well, giant compared to the washcloths Aqua was used to dealing with.

“You look really cold,” he said. “This is... clearly not a blanket. At all. But it’s clean, if you want to wrap up in it?”

Aqua nodded, hopping out of his palm to rest on the seat next to him. “Thank you, that’s very kind of you,” she said, curling up in the cloth as soon as he placed it next to her. She sighed in relief as her skin was hidden away from the cold air around her. Despite the rough texture and the fact that it smelled strongly of car wax, she was grateful for the makeshift blanket.

She cursed herself for wearing a sundress - and cursed herself for not thinking to pack warmer clothes before this vacation began - as it was quite chilly on the ship.

Once settled by his side, Aqua looked outside at the stars that passed them by. She had seen it all before, down on the planet below and when she flew by upon arriving here but... Seeing the stars, the planet, up in space without the tint of her helmet darkening everything?

“It’s beautiful,” she said with a sigh.

“Isn’t it? It’s probably not a new sight for either of us, but... there’s something very peaceful about the stars, y’know?” Rodimus said quietly after a moment.

Aqua could feel his eyes on her, and a glance upward confirmed her suspicion. She blinked up at him, a bit surprised by the warmth behind his gaze.

“The galaxy is beautiful, but... I think I’d rather look at you,” he continued with a soft smile.

Aqua’s face instantly flushed a bright red at his words, her heart pounding harshly in her chest. She had thought she had grown used to his compliments, but clearly, he was still able to take her breath away. “Oh! Oh, thank you, I...” she turned her face away, flustered beyond belief.

She closed her eyes, willing herself to calm down, to slow her pounding heart. It didn’t really work, but once she felt her mouth would cooperate with her brain once again, she turned back up towards him, cheeks still a bright red.

“I... the feeling is mutual. Your eyes put all those stars to shame.” She'd compared them to stars before, back when she thought he was human. His eyes were such an intense shade of blue that they had twinkled in the dimmer lights of the cafe during that first date. The comparison was even truer now, for his eyes were the same color as they had always been but now literally, instead of just figuratively, glowed. Judging by what she had seen, it was a trait that was common in his species, but combined with that unique shade of blue... The effect was beautiful, just like the rest of him.

She wasn’t quite used to him like this, giant and made of metal, but... he was still handsome. And still very clearly Rodimus. She was certain she'd adjust soon enough.

“Thank you,” he replied, his voice warm and... staticky, she supposed. A bright flush lit up his cheeks - Aqua was happy to see that they shared that particular form of expression between species - and he reached down to gently touch her with a single fingertip once again. His gaze turned softer, almost longing as he stroked her shoulder, his finger barely brushing her skin, as though he was afraid to touch her too hard.

Aqua leaned heavily into his touch yet again, and she found that right now, more than anything, she wanted to kiss him. It was a shame that they couldn’t really do such a thing properly like this. But...

“Rodimus?” she asked, looking up at him, both hands grasping onto the tip of his finger. “Can you pick me up again? And... could you, umm, bring me up to your face?” She blushed brightly, wondering if that was weird for her to ask.

“Of course,” Rodimus said, seemingly having no problem with her request as he unfurled his fingers and flattened his palm near to her.

She quickly scrambled onto his hand, leaving the washcloth behind, and he lifted her up so she was mostly eye level with him. Those brilliant optics were even lovelier up close, now that she could faintly see the mechanical components within, and for a moment she almost felt pinned in place as they focused on her.

“Like this?” he asked, and Aqua felt her stomach twist into knots at how gentle his voice was.

“Thank you, but... can you lower me a bit?” she replied, shifting her weight from one foot to another and clenching her hands with nervousness.

Rodimus grinned, moving his hand a bit. “Is that better?”

She was now about level with his nose. Aqua giggled, giving it a pat on the tip, and shook her head. “A little lower.”

Laughing softly, Rodimus moved his hand a little more. “How about now?”

Aqua was now staring at his mouth. With her face a burning red, Aqua nodded. “Yes, this is perfect, thank you.”

She gulped a bit, nervously licking her lips. She had kissed his cheek earlier, but he hadn’t reacted, like he hadn’t known she had even done it. There would be no mistaking it now - he was looking right at her, and it would be right there on his lips. He was grinning, his gaze soft with amusement, so he had to know what she was about to do.

Steeling herself with a deep, steady breath, Aqua closed her eyes and leaned forward, gently placing her lips up against his upper lip in as best of a kiss as she could manage given their difference in size.

Rodimus’ engine stuttered loudly, startling Aqua a little. He held himself very still until she pulled away, and she opened her eyes to see him blinking down at her, his own cheeks flushed even more with warmth.

Aqua was going to say something when he leaned down, kissing... well... her entire head, neck, and most of her upper chest.

He leaned back again, shrugging a shoulder and huffing with amusement. “Sorry. I tried.”

It wasn’t exactly pleasant, having most of her face covered like that, but Aqua couldn’t stop herself from giggling. “Thank you,” she said softly, leaning her head forward so that her forehead rested just above his mouth. “I appreciate the effort.” Clumsy or not, the mere fact that he had attempted it at all meant the world to her.

She heaved a sigh, one hand coming up to stroke at his cheek. “If only there was a way for us to be the same size... without the use of your hologram.” She frowned, recalling the time she had been shrunk thanks to the Fairy Godmother’s magic, along with tales from Sora about a world with drinks and food that would make you grow large or small upon consuming them. “I know of a few worlds with magic that could do the trick, if you ever wanted to give it a try.”

Rodimus hummed thoughtfully, butting against her gently with his cheek. “I wouldn’t mind that at all. It would be... interesting...”

He trailed off, going quiet for a long moment, clearly thinking something over. She made a mental note to ask Sora for the location of the world with the magic food that changed your size, eager to try it - either her growing large enough to kiss Rodimus, or Rodimus shrinking down to kiss her.

He pulled his head back, looking down at her sheepishly. “Actually, I... can totally mass displace. Umm, grow or shrink down,” he explained. “I just forgot all about it until you said something. It takes a lot of concentration, so I’m... not very good at getting the size right, but I figure I can get close enough, if you want to try-”

“Yes!” she eagerly exclaimed, before realizing that she had cut him off. She gave him a sheepish smile, face warming at her own eagerness. “I mean, if you’re okay with giving it a shot,” she amended, grin morphing into a brighter, more excited one.

“Sure, why not? I dunno how long I can handle being so small but _surely_ it’ll be long enough to... get some things done,” he said, moving his hand so Aqua could hop down onto the seat next to him again.

She curled up in the blanket, watching with interest as he frowned, deep in thought.

“This might... umm, take a little bit,” he said shyly. “I’ve only ever done it like, once.”

“No worries, take your time,” Aqua reassured him.

After a few quiet minutes, Aqua realized that he was slowly becoming smaller. She gasped excitedly, crawling out of her blanket to watch in amazement. It didn’t take too long for him to finish, and then he was walking toward her - several inches _shorter_ than her this time.

“Well, well, well! How the tables have turned,” he said with a chuckle as he took in their new height difference.

Aqua was so excited that she launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug. It was strange, how desperately she wanted to hold him, even though she had done it only a few hours earlier. But, she supposed that after everything that had happened tonight, it made sense.

His body was just as hard now as it had been when he was large, which was kind of a given, what with him being made of metal. It wasn’t exactly the most comfortable of hugs, as she was certain the strength she used to hug him was giving her bruises and his sharper edges dug harshly into her skin, but she didn’t care. Aqua could only laugh, glad that it had worked and they could finally do the one thing that they’ve both wanted to do for days now. “Thank you,” she muttered into the top of his head, “thank you, thank you, thank you.”

She felt Rodimus melt in her embrace. The bright yellow spoiler on his back drooped, and she felt his engine slow to a relaxed rumble as he held her close in return. “You’re more than welcome,” he said softly, stroking along her shoulders.

They held each other for a long moment before he pulled back, gazing up into her eyes - and _that_ was certainly a strange feeling, as Aqua was so used to it being the other way around, her gazing up into _his_ eyes.

“Now, there’s something else I wanted to do, I hope you don’t mind,” he said with a grin, moving his arms from her shoulders to gently hold her waist. He stood on his toes and, without further ado, pressed his lips to hers.

Aqua’s eyes fluttered shut, and she didn’t move at first. Rodimus held still too, which thankfully gave her a chance to feel, to take in the sensation. Despite being made out of metal, his lips were strangely soft and pliant, though definitely not as soft as a human’s. The kiss felt wonderful, she decided, even if they hadn’t really done anything yet.

After a moment, he started to move his mouth against hers, his touch gentle and sweet. Warmth blossomed in Aqua’s chest, and she pressed back curiously, her fingers curling against his frame. He hummed softly, pressing his mouth a little harder against hers, and soon he was kissing faster than she could really follow.

She felt his fingers bunching up in the fabric of her dress as he pulled her closer, moving his lips almost desperately against hers, seemingly unable to hold back anymore. Aqua couldn’t really keep up, but she enjoyed it nonetheless - right now, she was on cloud nine. She felt like she was floating.

It was everything she had imagined, everything she could’ve ever wanted. And when Rodimus pulled back, she almost chased after him, not wanting it to end. She was heaving for breath, face still flushed red, but her eyes were bright and her smile so wide it almost hurt.

He was smiling up at her in return, looking at her with so much affection that Aqua thought she would burst. She moved her hands to cup the finials that adorned his cheeks, pressing their foreheads together.

“Hmmm... that was worth the wait, I think,” she whispered, placing a small kiss on the tip of his nose.

“I think so too,” Rodimus replied, his own voice soft and shaky. His eyes were brighter than they had been before, the light reflecting against his cheeks as he looked into Aqua’s eyes. One of his trembling hands reached up to comb carefully through Aqua’s hair, massaging her scalp softly.

She could feel his frame start to sway a bit, and she realized that staying this small must have been really sapped his energy - though, him kissing her silly probably wasn’t doing much to help either.

“May I... have another?” Rodimus asked shyly, gently bumping their noses together.

Aqua giggled at his adorably polite request. “You may,” she answered, leaning forward to kiss him yet again. She figured he couldn't stay small for very much longer, and she wanted to take advantage of all the time they had left like this. Taking hints from the kiss before, she moved against him in a way that she realized she liked best, and she hoped he enjoyed it as well.

She ran one hand over his head, as she would’ve done if he had been in his holoform. Where she would have carded her fingers through his hair before, she now stroked along his helm - running a thumb across the bright finials above his brow, massaging the dip next to where his ears seemed to be, petting along the smooth crest running down the center of his head. He relaxed further into her touch, pressing his head against her fingers as much as he could without ending the kiss.

Aqua pressed as close to him as possible, bringing them chest-to-chest. They hadn’t pulled away yet and she was already missing the contact, which would be gone once he returned to his original size. Hopefully, they would be able to kiss again in the future, either through Rodimus shrinking like this again or by taking a short vacation on one of the worlds she mentioned. It was addicting and wonderful, and Rodimus seemed to love it as much as she did.

They finally broke apart again, and Rodimus sighed happily. His frame was definitely wobbling now, and he slowly sunk down to rest on his knees. Aqua followed him, taking a seat in front of him as he rested.

“Thank you, Aqua. That was... wonderful,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “Much better than I could have imagined.”

His head drooped tiredly, and he nestled it against Aqua’s shoulder, careful not to poke her with the spines on his helm. “Wish I could stay this small for a little longer. ‘m sorry, ‘m so outta practice,” he slurred sleepily, giving her cheek a soft peck.

“Thank _you_ ,” she murmured, gently pulling him against her. “This clearly took a lot out of you... I really appreciate you doing this.” She placed a small peck on his forehead, affection blossoming so strongly in her chest she felt almost overwhelmed by it. “You should probably turn back and then take a nice nap.”

Honestly, a nap sounded very pretty nice right now. Everything that had happened that day was finally catching up to her - from the emotional rollercoaster, to using so much magic to ensure she reached the ship, to simply just kissing him. She wasn’t sure where she could sleep, as this ship was obviously not built for tiny humans in mind, but... she’d figure something out.

It only took a few minutes for Rodimus to return to his regular size, though Aqua was quick to move to the other side of the seat so he didn’t accidentally squash her in the process.

“Alright, I’m gonna turn in for a little bit. Would you like me to drop you off somewhere before I pass out?” he asked, drawing her attention.

Aqua blinked several times, turning her gaze up towards him as he once again towered over her. She smiled and nodded. “If you could take me to a part of the ship where I can leave? I’d like to go back to the hotel and get all of our stuff.” She laughed a bit as she held the skirt of her dress out to the side. “This isn’t very practical spacewear, and I know poor Terra will probably be dying for a shirt before long.”

She was admittedly reluctant to leave, but she knew if she didn’t do it now while she had the chance, there was a good chance of it getting put off for far too long. They needed their clothes and toothbrushes and other care items. She could grab it all and be back in no time, so long as the ship didn’t travel too far away from the world.

Rodimus nodded. “Yeah, of course. I’ll let Megatron know your plan, so he can keep the Lost Light where it is. He won’t be happy, but I really don’t care. Just send me a text when you plan to return so we can open the door for you this time,” he said, reaching down to pick her up and nuzzle her against his cheek. He then moved her down to his chest, holding her close as they headed back down the hallway.

“Feel free to borrow a shuttlecraft if you want? Just not, erm, the one that looks like my face. The Rod Pod would be a clear giveaway that you’re hanging out with us,” he said.

“Thank you,” she said, taking out her phone to send a quick text to Terra and Ventus so that they knew what she was doing. “I should be good with just my armor and glider, though. I’m not sure I would know how to fly one of your ships right.” She could feel his confused glance, but he didn’t question her further at least.

The trip back down the hallway was much less eventful this time, though judging by the slightly dimmed lights, Aqua supposed it was because it was late in the evening for the crew.

“Alrighty. Well, be careful,” he said as they arrived at their destination, the trip much quicker than Aqua thought it would be. He kissed the top of her head again, only kind of messing her hair up this time, though it wouldn’t really matter either way; wearing her armor would probably make it even more mussed.

She stood up in his palms, kissing him on the cheek before she pulled away, summoning her armor and keyblade in a flash of light. Her weapon transformed into the glider almost as soon as it appeared, and she moved to hover right next to his head. “I will. You get some rest, ok?”

His eyes were wide, clearly as impressed as he was confused by the sight of her armor. The adorable expression made her giggle, and she reached down to pat the side of his face once more.

“I’ll be back before you know it.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Probably would be a good idea to brush your teeth after reading this really long epilogue. The tooth-rotting fluff tag isn't a joke. Anyway, thanks for reading!

The day that Rodimus was dreading had finally arrived.

He had really been enjoying the time that he got to spend with Aqua. The past few days had flown by, filled to the brim with kisses, cuddles, and dates. Rodimus had done his best to _spoil_ Aqua rotten - now, with nothing to hide from her, his hesitance was shoved to the side, and he was finally able to be as affectionate with her as he pleased.

In return, Aqua lavished him with kisses and compliments at every waking opportunity, showering Rodimus just as much warmth and tenderness as she was given. She really did seem to be enjoying herself as well, if the beautiful smile that she had worn all week was anything to go by.

It was wonderful, and more than Rodimus could have ever hoped for, considering how many times he had fragged up their other dates on the planet’s surface. He never wanted it to end.

But... it was time for Aqua and her friends to return home.

He looked down at Aqua, who was resting on his palms as they headed toward the shuttle bay. She was deep in thought, her fingers twisting the hem of her shirt as she looked down in her lap. The bright smile she had worn for the past few days was long gone from her face, replaced with a small, defeated frown.

“Aqua... are you okay?” he asked softly, though he knew the answer already.

“Yeah, I’m alright,” she answered, sighing as she shook her head. “Just... sad to say goodbye.”

Rodimus nodded, his whole frame sagging under the weight of his own emotions. “Yeah. me too,” he said, his own voice more staticky than he would have liked.

His response was an understatement, of course. He had only known Aqua for a couple of weeks at the most, yet... he had grown _so_ attached to her. Her warm, radiant presence had become so familiar that he wasn’t ready to break away from her yet, even though he knew it was the right thing to do.

They had talked about calling each other when they were apart, and Rodimus hoped that they would. Neither of them knew how long it would be until they were able to meet again, or what the future would bring, but that didn’t stop Rodimus from hoping they could stay in touch.

Rodimus’ feet ground to a halt when he reached the door to enter the shuttle bay. He bent down, placing Aqua carefully on the floor so she could stand on her own. She took a moment to stretch, frowning at the door in front of them. Her form sagged a bit, and Rodimus wanted nothing more than to hold her close, to comfort and reassure her before she stepped into the other room.

“Can... can I have a hug before you go? Or would that make it worse?” Rodimus found himself asking.

She looked up at him, and he could see her smile even from this far away. Her arms reached upward and she nodded. “Please... I’d like one last hug,” she said.

Rodimus sighed in relief at her response, and he quickly shrunk down to an appropriate size. Within a minute or so, he was blinking up at her, a wobbly smile on his faceplates as he wrapped his arms around her.

“Thank you,” he said, squeezing her tightly and burying his face into her neck, careful not to poke her with his finials.

She returned the hug, sighing softly. “Thank _you_ ,” she replied, and he felt her lips on the side of his helm. “Thank you for... letting us stay on your ship. For spending time with me. For shrinking down so I can hold you...” She laid another light kiss on the top of his helm and squeezed him just a little tighter. “Can I... request one last kiss?” she asked, her voice muffled by the top of his head.

Rodimus’ spark swelled at the question. He pulled back, looking up into her bright eyes, and tried not to think about how much he was going to miss being able to see them in person.

“Of course,” he said. He moved his hands from her back to hold the sides of her face, running his thumbs over her soft cheeks.

Rodimus stood on his toes, bringing their lips together tenderly, hoping that this last kiss could somehow convince her to stay - though, deep down, he knew better. They had only just met, after all. Carelessly tossing away their responsibilities to stay together was foolish, no matter how right it felt in the moment.

Knowing the truth didn’t stop him from trying, though. He still poured his spark into the kiss, and he felt his frame go lax when she returned it.

They broke apart, and Aqua rested her forehead against Rodimus’, searching his optics as she took a moment to catch her breath. “I’ll call. As soon as we get back home,” she said.

Rodimus nodded. “Thank you. I’d appreciate that,” he said softly. The promise made him happy, but he also knew that no matter how long it took her to call him, he would worry endlessly, assuming the worst had happened.

He gave her the brightest smile that he could manage, kissing her wetly on the cheek before finally pulling away from her. It hurt like hell, but he knew if he didn’t let her go now, he wouldn’t be able to at all.

With a soft sigh, he stepped back a few paces, growing back to his regular size. With probably a bit too much force, he hit the panel on the wall, allowing the doors of the shuttle bay to slide open with a quiet _woosh_. Terra and Ven were already there, waiting for the third of their trio. Drift and Magnus were also there, with Magnus manning the console to the shuttle bay doors.

Rodimus looked down at Aqua with a sad smile. “Be careful out there, okay?”

Aqua nodded solemnly. “Of course,” she said, taking a few steps into the room. “You be careful too.”

Rodimus headed over to where Drift was standing, offering him a small nod before he turned back to the humans. Aqua joined her friends, who both looked just as forlorn as they talked quietly among each other. They double checked that all of their belongings were present and accounted for before they activated their armor.

They turned to face Rodimus then, and he gave them all a little wave, laughing a bit when they waved back.

Once the trio had safely departed, Rodimus, Drift, and Magnus each made their way back to the bridge, a bleak silence following them the entire way.

Time to get back to work.

* * *

“Oh, Cyclonus, stop! That tickles!” Tailgate giggled from the old warrior’s lap as he was pet lovingly on the helm.

Cyclonus merely smiled down at his tiny partner, eyes full of love and adoration. “Oh, very well,” he replied, reaching down to grasp the minibot’s hand instead. “Is this more to your liking?”

Rodimus sighed, holding his helm and shuttering his optics. It had been a very long and miserable day. He just wanted to have a nice, quiet drink. But no. He was stuck here listening to this... over the top, mushy slag! Sure, Cyclonus and Tailgate were seated at the complete other end of the bar, but there were so few customers in Swerve's tonight that Rodimus couldn’t help but overhear every word that they said to each other.

It was annoying! And... _maybe_ he was a little jealous.

He watched the pair tangle their fingers together, and his processor reminded him of Aqua’s tiny, cold hands when he was able to hold them - or, when he was too large to hold her hand, she would lightly trace little shapes on his plating. The bright giggles from the minibot were overly sweet for Rodimus' audials, whereas Aqua’s were light and lovely, sounding almost melodic. The neon flush of energon on Tailgate’s face was cute and all, he supposed, but Aqua’s blush was so much softer and prettier along her cheeks. Unless she was really flustered, of course, then she matched Rodimus’ paint job quite nicely.

And, of course, the warm look in Cyclonus’ crimson optics, the serene smile on his lipplates... Rodimus could practically _feel_ the affection radiating from the warrior from all the way over where he was sitting. He knew that expression all too well: he had worn it himself when looking at Aqua quite a few times.

Rodimus sighed, looking down into his drink. He really, really missed Aqua. They had been talking at least a few times a week and had, in fact, just spoken a couple of days ago. He didn’t want to bother her if he could help it, but he wondered if she would be up for a quick chat.

With new plans for the afternoon, Rodimus finished his mid-grade a bit quicker than he had originally intended, tossing Bluestreak a few shanix before hopping off of the bar stool. He pulled his comm unit out of his subspace, dialing Aqua’s number as he headed over to his habsuite.

-

Aqua was flying. 

All around her were clouds and golden specks of dust as she glided through the air, laughing all the while. Around her were her friends, those she had seen recently and those she hadn’t seen in years, all of them happy as they flew alongside her. Ven and Sora did a flip competition with Terra and Riku as the judges. Xion and Roxas clung tightly to Lea and laughed as he struggled to stay afloat. Kairi chatted merrily with Zack and Hercules, all looking how they did when Aqua first met them all those years ago. 

And there, flying next to Aqua, shrunk down so that they were about the same size, was Rodimus. He wore a huge smile as he happily talked to her, though his words never really registered.

It was peaceful. She was content.

Then, suddenly, Tinkerbell flew up into Aqua’s face, urgently gesturing to something as a light ringing of bells filled the air. Aqua tilted her head as she looked at the fairy in confusion, unable to understand her. Tinkerbell continued to fuss, the ringing bells growing louder and louder, morphing into a more electronic tune. Aqua looked around, all of her friends now gone, the sky suddenly stormy-

Aqua then fell.

She awoke with a gasp and a violent jerk, feeling as though she'd just fallen into her bed. She laid still for a few moments, blearily staring at the ceiling as she wondered just why she was awake and why she had a sudden headache.

Then she registered the sound of her phone ringing.

Aqua sighed as she rolled over and clumsily grabbed her phone, glaring at the ID on the screen. Her glare dropped when she read Rodimus’ name, a bright but tired smile stretching across her face as she answered.

“Hello?” she greeted, voice rough from sleep.

_“Hey baby, I hope I’m not bothering you,”_ Rodimus said, and Aqua could practically hear the soft smile on his face. She suppressed a yawn as she turned on the lamp next to her bed, sitting up a bit.

_“Wait... did I wake you up?”_ he asked.

Aqua moved to lean against the wall a bit, shaking her head. “No, no you’re fine,” she reassured him. She was eager to talk to him, it wasn’t a big deal, she wasn’t even tired any-

A big yawn successfully fought its way out of her mouth and Aqua blushed. “Ok, you did... but it’s fine, I promise,” she said. “How are you?”

_“Aww, gosh, I’m sorry! I didn’t even think about it being a different time for you?”_ he said, sighing softly. _“I’m doing okay. I just... I was thinking about you, and... missing you. A lot. How are you?”_

Aqua hummed, warmth filling her at the confession that he missed her. “It’s ok! It was bound to happen sooner or later. Time runs differently on each world and all that.” She sighed as she closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the wall with a soft thud. “I’m doing ok, nothing all that special to report. Though... I’ve missed you too.” Her voice grew soft at the admission, her heart clenching with a longing to be near him again.

_“Well, that’s good to hear. Even if there isn’t much going on, it’s nice to hear that you’re doing well. And... to just hear your voice...?”_ He sighed. _“I don’t want to keep you up too much longer, though. You hardly need your beauty sleep because you’re already gorgeous, but... you definitely need to rest!”_

Aqua giggled at this compliment, rolling her eyes. “Thank you, but you really don’t have to worry. I can sleep in tomorrow if I need to.” That was a lie, for she always had trouble sleeping past 7, but he didn’t need to know that.

She placed her free hand over her heart. “I hope I can see you soon... I know we’re both busy, so it might not be for a while but... I want to introduce you to all my friends. Sora won’t stop asking about you guys, no thanks to Ventus' constant bragging," she told him. "And... I. Really want to hold you again. And kiss you.”

Heat rushed to her cheeks as soon as the words were out of her mouth. She covered her face in embarrassment, her tired mind making her forget her modesty for a second. “Oh, I... hope that wasn’t too odd to say.”

It was silent on the other end of the line for a moment. _“I... no, that’s not weird at all! I miss holding and kissing you, too. And... seeing you blush so pretty for me. I bet you’re blushing right now, aren’t you?”_ he teased.

Aqua's cheeks warmed even more at his words. “Shush, you,” she mumbled, gaze falling to her lap as she tried to fight it back. “You have no way to prove it. For all I know, _you’re_ the one who’s blushing.”

And wasn’t _that_ a sight, Rodimus blushing brightly. She supposed she could understand the appeal, though she did it far more often than he.

She heard Rodimus snort. _“As a matter of fact, I am! I’m not ashamed to admit it,”_ he said, drawing a surprised giggle out of Aqua as she imagined the sight.

_“Anyway...”_ he continued after a moment, _“I hope we get to meet again soon, too. I think we’re finally zeroing in on the Knights - according to the map, that is. And... I’m looking forward to meeting your friends too! You sure have a bunch, so it’ll take me a while to keep them all straight... I don’t mean to sound rude, but some of them look quite similar in those pictures you’ve sent!”_ he said.

She smiled warmly, a soft hum emitting from her. “It’s not rude at all! I imagine you’ll have some trouble with a few of them. It took me a while to adjust when I first met some of them too.” She recalled the shock she received upon meeting Roxas for the first time. And she had thought Sora was the spitting image of Ven! “But, well... hopefully, it’ll be soon. And if not... at least we can call each other. Sometimes just hearing your voice or seeing your face on a screen is enough.”

_“Mmmm, yeah, if we didn’t have that, I don’t know what I would do with myself. Pictures and texts wouldn’t quite cut it for me,”_ he said.

There was a pause, and Aqua heard a soft sound from Rodimus’ end. A yawn perhaps? She couldn’t remember if she had ever seen Rodimus yawn before, so she wasn’t sure if that’s what she heard or not.

_“No matter how soon we get to see each other again, it won’t be soon enough. I know that’s corny, but that’s how I feel,”_ he said with a chuckle. _“I need to treat you on a nice, fancy date. Been thinkin’ about it since ya left.”_

Aqua smiled, noting the slight slurring of Rodimus’ words. He was definitely getting tired. “That does sound lovely, though just being near you again would be more than enough,” she replied, glancing at the clock by her bed.

“I... don’t want to cut this short. I really don’t... I’ve missed you a lot but... I think we should probably both try for some sleep.” Her heart ached at the mere thought and she winced. “Maybe we can try to talk again tomorrow? When we’re both awake?”

_“No, you’re right... I’ve probably kept you awake long enough. Just text me tomorrow and... maybe we can talk some more?”_ he said. _“I’m gonna start doing that. Texting you first. I still can’t believe I woke you up...”_ he grumbled.

_“Anyway. Sleep tight, Aqua. I hope you have sweet dreams,”_ he murmured, making a loud kissy noise. _“That was me smooching you on the forehead.”_

Aqua giggled, blushing lightly at the thought of Rodimus kissing her on the forehead. He was ridiculous, but she hardly minded.

“I hope you sleep well too, Rodimus... talk to you soon.” She then paused, wondering if she should give him a kiss back before her sleep-deprived brain said: “screw it”. She gave the phone a kiss, making sure the sound could be clearly heard.

“That was me kissing your cheek,” she clarified, giggling before moving to lay back down in her bed. “Goodnight.”

* * *

Aqua was beyond giddy. She practically bounced to her room, an excited spring in her step as she closed the door and pulled out her phone. She had gotten the text from Rodimus confirming he could talk, and she was quick to send him a video chat.

She was eager to talk to him, mostly because she missed him, but also because she had a question to ask him - a question about his spark.

Earlier that day, she'd had quite the interesting conversation about sparks with her friends. Terra initially brought it up, seeming to have some knowledge of the subject thanks to Drift, and Ventus was eager to corroborate with his own information. They explained that it was a life source of some kind, comparable to their hearts, which made plenty of sense to Aqua. Hearts and souls were hardly a new concept to her, so she wasn't all that surprised that Cybertronians had their own equivalent.

However, Ven went on to mention an important detail that surprised both Aqua and Terra - unlike their hearts, Cybertronian sparks were _visible!_

Part of her was in disbelief - despite Ventus' claims of a spark's visibility, he had yet to actually see one for himself - but she was also pretty curious about it as well. 

What if they actually _were_ visible? What did they look like?

The only way to find out the truth, she supposed, was to ask a Cybertronian, right? And who better to ask than Rodimus?

Aqua settled down on her bed as she watched the phone ring, excited to see his face again.

-

Rodimus was sitting at his desk, completely failing at getting any work done whatsoever. This week, he was part of the nightly skeleton crew, and the eerie silence of the ship was making it impossible for him to think. He was thankful when Aqua texted him, seemingly wanting to chat at just the right moment.

He turned to make sure his door was shut, perking up a bit when he saw his datapad flashing to life. He quickly accepted the video chat, face lighting up with a grin when he saw her beaming at him.

“Hey! How’s it going?” he asked excitedly.

“Hello! I’m doing much better now that I’ve seen you,” she greeted him just as brightly, her eyes sparkling as she took in the sight of him and his surroundings. “I’m not interrupting anything, am I?”

Rodimus’ grin widened at her words, happy to hear that her day had improved just as much as his had by one little video chat. “Nah, not really. I mean... I’m _at work_ , but I can chat for a little bit. It’s really late and really boring...”

He glanced toward the door when he heard an ominous thud, hoping it was just someone on the bridge dropping something, then turned back to Aqua. “And... a little creepy, to be honest. But I have you here to protect me,” he said with a wink.

Aqua giggled, covering her mouth with her free hand. “Well, I’m not sure how much help I can be through a screen, but I’ll certainly do my best to keep you safe!”

She grinned widely, looking at him before sighing happily. “How have you been? Any closer with your quest?”

Rodimus rested his chin on his free hand as he thought over his response. “Sort of, I suppose! There haven’t been any more zany adventures since we last talked; unless you count Skids falling through the ceiling again, or Whirl stepping on Ravage’s tail and getting the shit clawed out of him?” he answered with a shrug. “How’ve things been with you, my dear?”

She tapped her chin thoughtfully for a moment. “Well, I visited a new world the other day. It was beautiful... nothing but islands and oceans as far as the eye could see. Reminded me of the world where we met,” she said.

Rodimus’ chest warmed at the reminder of the lovely planet, and the wonderful parts of the vacation. He was captain of the ship, and with his power, he chose to veto the bad parts from his processor at this time.

“That sounds amazing! I wish the places I got to visit were half as pretty, they’re usually just giant chunks of metal or rock,” he said with a frown.

He glanced up at her, noticing her nibbling at her lip. She seemed... lost in thought, almost.

“Hey, you okay? You look like you’ve got something on your mind,” he said softly.

Aqua jumped, giving him a small smile. “I’m fine, I just... Terra and Ven mentioned something dealing with Cybertronians and I’m... curious about it. Just trying to figure out the right way to ask, is all.”

Rodimus tilted his helm curiously, rubbing his chin as he thought her words over. He briefly wondered what it was she would want to ask about - she said Cybertronians in general, so it wasn’t about _him_ specifically.

“Hmmm... Well, I’m sure I can answer it. Just, depends on what it is, I suppose,” he said with a shrug of his shoulder. “I’m not like... a historian or a doctor or anything. Just a regular ol’ doofus. So... don’t be afraid to just ask, point blank, if you want!” He grinned widely at her, hoping that it would help her feel more comfortable with whatever it was.

“Thank you, Rodimus,” Aqua said. Her smile widened a bit as she thought it over a little longer.

Rodimus waited for her to continue, though his ever-growing curiosity was making it rather difficult to be patient.

Her eyes met his through the screen again and she sighed. “I just... I was wondering. Would it be alright if I saw your spark?”

Rodimus’ jaw dropped.

His engine ground to an abrupt halt, struggling to turn over as he tried to process her words. His... what?

She... _That_ was her question?!

He was expecting... he didn’t know what. A question about the war? About their ability to transform? Hell, even a question about sparklings would have been more expected than this!

“I... _Aqua_ , that’s, umm,” he said, his voice louder than he wanted due to his embarrassment. His eyes darted away from hers, not able to meet her now very confused and probably hurt gaze.

He sighed, covering his face with his hand to try and hide the energon that rushed to his cheeks. He was certain that he had never, _ever_ blushed this hard in his entire life. His mouth opened and closed a few times as he tried to figure out what to say next.

“I... Okay. I don’t know where Ven heard about... _those_ , but. I. Umm. Aqua, how would you feel if I asked you to strip naked right here and right now? Because that’s basically what you just asked me to do, but like times ten!” he hissed.

He finally looked up to meet Aqua’s eyes, and her face was... well. She was blushing brighter than Rodimus had ever seen, and her eyes were _huge_. Her hands flew to her face, sending the phone sliding off of where she had been holding it.

“I am _so sorry!_ ” she cried.

Rodimus frowned, and, speak of the devil, his spark twisted roughly at the sound of Aqua in distress.

He took a deep vent, gathering his thoughts for a moment.

Maybe... he had overreacted a bit. His comparison was a little extreme. But he wasn’t prepared for a question like that, damn it!

He looked back at the screen, which was a mottled gray as her phone presumably rested against something. “Hey, wait, come back!” he called, hoping that she was still there at all. His tanks churned nervously, wondering if he had upset her with his response.

“Aqua, please come back? Look at me,” he said, voice strained with worry.

After a long moment, the screen righted itself, and he was looking at her flushed face again. She wouldn’t look at him, not really, but at least she was still there at all.

“You have nothing to be sorry about. You didn’t know! I should be the one apologizing, the way I spoke to you was... inappropriate. I’m sorry,” he apologized. “They’re just so... private. I wasn’t expecting something like that.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry, Rodimus... I should’ve... guessed it was a private matter, based on what I had heard. I just...” Her frown deepened a bit.

“No, it’s okay. Don’t feel bad, you didn’t really know. And... I did tell you to just ask me point blank, after all,” Rodimus tried his best to reassure her. “I don’t really know what you... heard, but I can tell you about them if you want! Or even about mine, that’s not such a big deal,” he explained. “It’s just. The whole...” his face scrunched up for a moment, the flush on his cheeks intensifying, “ _Showing_ you thing. That’s... we gotta really work up to that,” he said.

He took a moment to replay what he had just said to her, implying that... maybe... he would show her someday. The blush that remained on his cheeks brightened at the thought.

Would he?

...maybe, he admitted to himself. He just might, depending on how things went between them. It had never been _seriously_ considered before, and he had been content with just... not telling her about it for a while. But now that the cat was out of the bag? There was a possibility, he supposed.

Aqua took in a deep breath, catching his attention as she finally looked up at the screen again. “It’s... it’s okay. I don’t, umm,” she huffed, sitting up a bit. “I don’t want to make you any more uncomfortable. We can save all that for another day if you want. I mean, if you want to talk about it at all.”

Rodimus nodded. “I wouldn’t mind at all! Now that I’ve gotten over the initial... shock of things, I can probably think of some interesting stuff to tell you. Perhaps another day would be better, though,” he agreed, scratching the back of his helm.

His comm unit buzzed loudly against his desk, and Rodimus glanced down at the screen to see it was a message from Drift. He squinted at it, seeing a bunch of capital letters and emojis, though he was too far away to read any of the message itself. He frowned, nudging it out of the way to deal with later.

“Is there... anything else you wanted to know?” he asked, but before he allowed her to answer, he held up a hand, “Well... Don’t ask about interfacing. I don’t think we’re ready for that either. Anything else is fair game. Or we could change the subject entirely!” he said with an awkward laugh.

He was probably just making everything worse, but he didn’t want Aqua to leave the conversation feeling this... embarrassed about things.

Aqua bit her lip. “I don’t know, honestly,” she answered after a moment. “I... I guess you’re allowed one super embarrassing question later on, though. To make up for this whole mess I put us in,” she said with a wobbly smile.

Rodimus laughed softly, his frame relaxing a bit. “No, I... won’t ask you anything embarrassing. Not on purpose, anyway. I can’t promise that I know what counts as embarrassing for a human,” he admitted.

He sighed, willing the discomfort to leave his frame for good, though it was... certainly not making the awkwardness of the conversation go away. His processor milled around in search of some safer topics, and he recalled what they were talking about before all of this happened.

“How about you tell me more about that world you visited?” Rodimus suggested after an extended pause, smiling warmly over at Aqua through the screen. "It really did sound quite lovely..."

Aqua’s smile turned genuine, and she sighed. With a small nod, she started to speak.

“Oh, yes! The islands on this world were beautiful, and the people there were very friendly. They traveled from island to island, eager to discover what all was out there...”

* * *

She was running. Running. Without end, she ran through the darkened woods, heartless lurking in the trees and bushes, watching her as she flew past them. She had to hurry... hurry, before they got her-!

Behind her, the screams of Terra and Ven rattled through the air, cutting her through her core. She wanted to turn, to go back to them and protect them, but her body refused, keeping her running just out of the heartless’ grip.

They were drawing closer, narrowing in on her, swiping at her. Her lungs ached as she pushed forward, desperate to get out of their reach. Just a bit further, then she’ll be free-

A bright light shone before her, making her screech to a stop. She shielded her eyes, unable to handle it, the heartless around her shrieking as they were destroyed.

“Aqua?”

The voice was familiar, but muffled, as if underwater. Aqua forced her eyes opened and squinted into the light. There, towering over her, Rodimus stood, like a beacon of hope. Aqua sighed as she rushed forward, eager to be rid of the heartless and darkness around her.

But then the light faded with a pained gasp. Aqua could only watch in horror as Rodimus’ body collapsed, a giant crystalline heart lifting from his form and soon engulfed by darkness. While his body below vanished in a flash of light, a new body began to take form with the darkness, a new gigantic heartless taking shape-

Aqua screamed in anguished horror as she fell to the ground.

When Aqua opened her eyes, tears were already clouding her vision and falling upon her pillow. Her heart pounded and her throat ached, as though she had been screaming as she slept. She scrambled to sit up, yanking the cord to turn on her lamp so hard she almost broke it. Her movement was clumsy as she grabbed for her phone, quickly dialing Rodimus’ number.

She had to call him and hear his voice. She needed to make sure he was okay.

-

Rodimus was trying _so very hard_ to stay awake.

As much as he loved Magnus, the bot made meetings drag on for way too long. He had to pore over every detail at least three times, though this time he had gotten to the point where even Megatron had grown weary-looking. At this rate, they would probably finish in another hour or so, even though they had discussed most of the important things by this point.

He startled when he felt his comm unit vibrate in his subspace, drawing the attention of everyone else in the room. Rodimus pulled it out, glancing at Aqua’s name as it flashed across the screen. He frowned, wondering why she hadn’t texted him first like they agreed on a few months ago.

Unless... something was wrong? His spark clenched in his chassis at the thought, and he quickly stood from his chair.

“Excuse me. I need to take this call,” he said, ducking out of the room before Magnus or Megatron could reprimand him. Drift actually took notes and could catch him up on the details later. His feet automatically headed toward his habsuite as he answered.

“Hello?” he greeted, trying to keep the worry out of his voice.

A soft breath met him on the other end of the line. _“Hi, Rodimus,”_ Aqua greeted with a shaky, hoarse voice. _“I... I’m sorry I called so suddenly, I hope I’m not interrupting anything, I’m sorry...!”_

Rodimus frowned, taking in the sound of her voice. It was scratchy, but thick and watery at the same time. Was she... sick? Had she been crying? He could barely understand what she was saying with how fast she was talking.

“You’re never interrupting anything,” he lied, though it hardly felt like a lie in this instance - the missed meeting meant little in the grand scheme of things. He entered his habsuite, locking the door behind him and standing in the middle of the room. “Don’t worry about things like that. Are you... alright? You don’t sound so good.”

Aqua hummed. _“Yeah. I’m alright,”_ she said, her voice a little steadier this time. _“It’s... it’s silly, now that I think about it. I just... needed to hear you, I guess.”_ He heard a muffled sound as something brushed her phone - a blanket, maybe? _“I wanted to make sure you were okay.”_

Rodimus milled over her words for a moment. She didn’t really _sound_ okay, but she did sound more like her regular self, and that was a start.

“I’m okay too. Just... glad that you’re alright. You had me worried there for a second,” he said. He settled down on the edge of his berth, holding a hand over his chassis as the hum of his spark returned to something normal. 

_“Sorry to worry you. I didn’t mean to do that. I just panicked, and...”_ Aqua sighed. " _I'm fine._ "

“Hmmm... Are you sure? Did... something happen?” he ventured, though he regretted the question as soon as it left his mouth. “Uhh. If you want to tell me, that is.”

Aqua didn't answer immediately. _“No, nothing happened, really. I just... had a nightmare,”_ she admitted. _“It’s silly, really, to get worked up over something like that, but I don’t know...”_

Ah. Yes, that explained a lot.

“Hey, that’s not silly. I have scary dreams too, so I... understand,” Rodimus reassured her softly. “I know all too well how disorienting they can be.”

It was true - Drift could testify the many times Rodimus had needed comfort and grounding after a nightmare. With his amica in such close proximity, it greatly reduced the chances of Rodimus melting through the berth from another vivid recollection of Nyon’s destruction - though he still lit up in recharge from time to time.

He sighed. “Aqua, please don’t ever feel bad for calling me. Even if it’s for something that seems silly, or... _just because_. You’re not... It’s not a bother to me.”

_“Thank you, Rodimus... You always seem to know just what to say,”_ she said. _“I just... after everything, sometimes it’s hard to tell what’s a dream and what’s not... I don’t know...”_

Aqua sighed again, and Rodimus wished that he could be there to hold her, to reassure her that she was alright, that whatever it was she had dreamed was not real. But, he could not. All he could do was listen and remind her that he cared about her.

_“Do... would it be alright if you just... if we talked for a little bit? I don’t want to go back to sleep yet.”_

Rodimus smiled softly, scooting back on his berth so he could lean against the wall. “Of course, we can talk. I have nowhere I need to be, nothing I would rather be doing,” he told her. “Well. That’s not quite true. I’d rather be there, hugging you and telling you that everything is okay, but this is as close as I can get.”

He hummed quietly to himself, trying to think of something that could push her mind away from that dark place before she went back to bed. “Have you got any plans for the week?” he found himself asking. It had only been about a day since their last conversation, so Rodimus figured that not a whole lot had happened in that time - asking about the future seemed like a safe bet.

Aqua hummed as she thought it over. _“I don’t think so. Nothing too interesting. Just... travel to various worlds, make sure they’re protected against the darkness.”_

There was a pause, and Rodimus waited, feeling as though there was more she wanted to say.

_“It’s been kind of... lonely, actually,”_ she said after a moment, her voice almost somber. _“Terra is off on some mission on a faraway world, Ven is visiting old friends he made on his previous travels. Everyone is either off-world or busy training.”_

Rodimus frowned. Now, more than ever, he wished that the path of the Lost Light was closer to the sector that Aqua and her friends frequented. He wanted nothing more than to be able to visit her, especially at a time like this, where she clearly felt some isolation from her loved ones.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” he said softly. “I know it’s not really the same, but... I’m always here to talk. If you’re, y’know, feeling lonesome. Like I said earlier, don’t be afraid to reach out, okay?”

_“Thank you, Rodimus,”_ Aqua said softly. _“You... don’t know how much that means to me. And the same goes for you, you know. You’re always welcome to call.”_

Rodimus’ audial caught the sound of a small yawn on the other end of the line, and he smiled. Hopefully, that meant she was getting comfortable and sleepy again.

_“Do you have any plans?”_ she asked.

“No, not really,” he replied truthfully. Despite the now-clear destination of their quest, their little pit stops always seemed to be a surprise. “I think... the quest is finally coming to a close. But who knows what will happen before we get there, y’know?”

He sighed, shaking off the sudden emptiness at the thought of the adventure ending - he could dwell on his melancholy feelings another time.

Aqua, meanwhile, was quiet on the other end of the line. He heard another yawn escape her mouth, though this one was much better muffled. An idea brewed in his processor, and he smiled.

“Hey, I heard this song the other day and I thought of you,” he told her warmly. “Do you wanna hear it?”

Aqua giggled, the sound making his spark twist happily. _“After all this time, you’re finally offering to sing to me again?”_ Rodimus heard a rustling sound, and he figured that she was trying to get comfortable. _“Yes, please. I would love to hear it,”_ she said, her voice softer. _“I hope it’s a flattering one for it to remind you of me.”_

Rodimus snorted. He hadn’t realized she liked his singing so much. He would definitely need to serenade her again when they reunited, though he would have to carefully select the perfect song for her. It would be quite the task... but, hopefully, it would be well worth it.

“Yeah, well. Maybe I’ve been holding out for a really, _really_ good song,” he said. “Anyway... I hope you like it. It’s a little corny, but I’m sure that doesn’t surprise you.”

He took a soft breath and, with a warm smile, he began to sing. “Meet me in the middle of the day, let me hear you say ‘everything’s okay’, bring me southern kisses from your room...”

Maybe his voice was a little softer than normal, the tempo of the song decreased a bit to be more soothing for his one and only listener, but who could say for sure? He just hoped that she’d enjoy it, or kept relaxing to the point where she was comfortable enough to go back to sleep.

The song came to a close a few minutes later, and Rodimus eagerly awaited her response - which, luckily, was a series of soft, deep breaths. Rodimus’ spark swelled with joy, happy to know that she had fallen back asleep again. Hopefully this time she wouldn’t be disturbed by horrid nightmares.

He listened to her breathing for a little longer, making sure that she was really, truly asleep before he hung up. Once the call had ended, he quickly typed up a message for her to read in the morning.

_Sleep tight, sweetspark. xoxo_

* * *

Rodimus strode to his habsuite, his whole frame thrumming with satisfaction. The past few days had been pretty awesome, all things considered, and he was happy to say that he felt good. Like, really good. He hadn’t been this genuinely upbeat in... well. It had certainly been a while.

There was just _something_ about meteor surfing that got his circuits singing. It was one of the few activities that could really, truly help him burn off a lot of energy and adrenaline at once.

He hadn’t been able to do it nearly as much as he wanted, unfortunately. This little hobby had to be put on the back burner, pushed aside for responsible, captainly duties. So, when he got a few vacation days saved up, and he realized the ship was near an uninhabited planet that was due for a meteor shower, he knew exactly how he wanted to spend his free time.

Now that Rodimus was back on board, though, he was content to just chill for a little while. He had already caught up with Drift, so now he sent a message to Aqua, asking if she could video chat when she had a moment. They hadn’t called in a few days, and he was eager to talk to her and to see her big, beautiful smile again.

He took some deep, calming vents, hoping that he could ride out the rest of this bright burst of energy before he heard back from her.

-

Aqua jumped up at the sound of her phone going off. She pulled it out of her pocket, a bright smile growing on her face when she saw it was a text from Rodimus, asking to chat. She had expected to hear from him later that day or tomorrow, so seeing the text now was a pleasant surprise.

Aqua hopped out of her seat, offering quick “excuse me,” to the friends she was eating a meal with. They gave each other knowing looks, watching her with amusement as she hurriedly deposited her dishes by the sink and headed to her room. She sent Rodimus a confirmation text as soon as she was through the door, eagerly shutting it behind her and jumping onto her bed. 

She stared at her phone, eagerly awaiting his call, though she didn’t have to wait too long. A minute or so later, the request popped up on her screen and she answered it, her heart squeezing happily at the sight of Rodimus on the screen.

“Hey cutie!” he greeted her brightly, a wide smile stretched across his face.

His smile was infectious, and Aqua found herself beaming at him in response, her heart practically singing at the sound of his voice. “Rodimus!” she excitedly greeted him, “it’s so good to see you, I've missed you!” 

“Aww, I missed you too!” he said, his smile and voice turning warmer. “It’s been a little while since we’ve had a good chat. How have you been?”

She sighed happily, making herself more comfortable on her bed and holding her phone up a bit higher so he could see her more easily. “Things are okay with me, not much happening over here. How about you? How was your vacation?”

Rodimus perked up at her question, his enthusiasm palpable even through the small screen. “It was great! I feel like a brand new mech. I beat one of my personal surfing records! And really stuck the landing for once, which I’m really excited about!" he said, sighing happily. "It was a lot of fun.”

“Oh!” Aqua said with a grin as she sat up straighter, interest and curiosity shining through her expression. “You went surfing? Was it on asteroids? I... think you mentioned surfing asteroids before...”

She frowned a bit as she struggled to recall if he actually said something about it before or if her mind just made it up because he could survive almost anything. It did sound familiar, so she was pretty sure that he had mentioned it before.

Rodimus nodded excitedly, confirming that she was correct and that he had brought it up before. “Yeah! Most of the surfing part happens when it becomes a meteor, but I usually pick out the meteoroid in space beforehand and stand on it for a day or so. It’s very challenging, but once it starts falling through to the planet, it’s really fast and a lot of fun,” he explained.

“A lot of mechs would overheat pretty badly in the atmosphere upon re-entry, but I am one of the few exceptions since my frame has an extremely high tolerance for heat, so I barely even feel it,” he said with a shrug of his shoulder. “It’s a lot more fun for me. Kinda feels like that roller coaster we went on!”

Aqua grinned brightly as she listened to his explanation, her heart fluttering with delight. Oh, she loved how genuinely excited he was, the way his whole face lit up when he talked about something he was passionate about. He was so happy and carefree, which was sadly a rare sight to see.

She loved him so much...

Aqua giggled, covering her face as she did so. “I should hope you have a high heat tolerance, pulling stunts like that and swimming in lava!” Her smile melted into a smaller, softer one. “I’m glad you had fun though. Sounds like you needed a break.”

He gave a soft huff, his eagerness simmering down a bit as he leaned back against the wall behind him. “Yeah, it had been a rough few weeks. I haven’t been on vacation since, well... since I met you!” he said, mouth pursed thoughtfully.

Aqua watched as his optics scanned the screen for a moment, his frown softening to a warm, affectionate smile.

“Thanks for... listening. And letting me hijack the conversation for a minute there,” he said, optics darting away shyly. “I appreciate it. A lot.”

Aqua sighed, propping her chin with her free hand. “It’s no problem,” she said smoothly, “I love listening to you talk!” And it was true - the mere _sound_ of his voice made her joyous beyond belief.

She smiled when she saw his cheeks flush a little. “Awww, jeeze... You’re too sweet, Aqua,” he said, scratching the back of his helm. He looked back at her, and she was surprised by the determination she saw in his gaze.

“It’s the same for me, you know,” he said, his voice almost wistful as he continued. “Listening to you talk about your friends or the places that you go, the things you see - your eyes get all big and sparkly, and you smile _so big_. You’re just so cute! I could listen to you talk about just about anything.”

A fierce blush appeared on Aqua’s face almost instantly, her heart pounding roughly in her chest.

Oh. Oh gosh. She should have expected this.

“Thank you!” She coughed a bit in order to help get a hold of herself before grinning widely at Rodimus, her expression almost sly. “I'm nowhere near as cute as you, though. You practically light up an entire room when you’re excited! You’re brighter than any sun or star I’ve seen, and far more beautiful to boot! And your voice... nothing cheers me up more than just hearing you speak. I _adore_ it.”

The flush on his cheeks brightened considerably, quickly overtaking his face before he reached up to hide it under his servo. His mouth opened and closed a few times, though nothing came out beyond a frustrated whine.

Warmth and affection blossomed in Aqua’s chest at the sound, and she couldn’t fight the way her smirk softened.

“I... Aqua, that’s not fair. Now you’re just being over the top on purpose,” he finally said. He moved his hand from his face and pouted at her, his cheeks still bright and warm when he looked away again.

He was _so_ cute. Every time Aqua saw him this flustered, his face such a lovely shade of red, optics darting around shyly, clearly thrown off by such simple and honest words? She found herself understanding more and more why he liked seeing _her_ blush so much.

Her heart felt like it was going to burst with the adoration she felt towards him.

She gave a happy sigh, shaking her head. “I’m not being over the top at all,” she said, leaning forward a bit as though it would help her get a better look at him. “It might seem ridiculous, that listening to you makes me so happy, but... that’s just how much I love you.”

Rodimus’ optics snapped toward Aqua, growing wide at the words. His expression morphed into one of confusion, and Aqua swallowed hard at the awkward pause that followed.

“I... Can you... say that again? That last part?” he eventually asked, his voice almost... small.

Aqua blinked, sitting up a bit straighter as she took in his response, worry nestling into the back of her mind. He seemed... _surprised_. Had she said it too soon?

No matter. It was already out now - she meant it and wasn’t about to take it back.

“I love you,” she told him earnestly, fighting down her nerves. “I... I love you so much, Rodimus. I have for a while now.” Probably since their time on the beach, though she couldn’t really be sure. She couldn’t recall the day she realized it, it seemed like she just always... _knew_.

Rodimus sat up too, splaying a hand over his chest, his contemplative frown deepening some. Aqua could do little more than watch him as he waded through his thoughts. He whispered something to himself, and she watched with fascination as his blush returned. He glanced back at Aqua, the fingers resting on his chassis gripping the metal a bit.

In a matter of seconds, his frown melted away, revealing one of the most beautiful smiles Aqua had ever seen.

“I... I love you too!” he said. His words were clear, but his voice shook a bit at the admission.

Aqua gasped at his words, her blush intensifying while her heart, still pounding, seemed to long for him, reaching out for him in a way she hadn’t experienced before. A wide grin slowly formed on her face as her mind began to catch up with the rest of her.

Oh, sure, she knew he _liked_ her, had hoped he loved her in return, but to hear him say it...

She watched him reach toward his screen, fingers gently tracing along the surface of his datapad, eyes filled with wonder. With a delighted laugh, she brought her own phone closer, as though it would help him reach through his screen, as though it would allow them to actually touch.

“You have no idea... how happy I am right now,” Aqua told him breathlessly. Oh, how she wanted to hold him tightly and never let go, to smother his giant face with thousands of tiny kisses.

Rodimus laughed too. “I dunno. I think I might have an idea,” he said, sliding to lay on his side with a muffled _clang_.

“Aqua, listen,” he said, his optics shining brightly at her. “The next time I see you in person? You’re gonna get hugged so hard, you hear me? And kissed, and cuddled, and... whatever else may come after that. So prepare yourself. It’s gonna be really sappy and over the top.”

Aqua giggled, cradling her phone with both hands as she leaned back against the wall behind her bed. Her cheeks were starting to hurt from smiling so much, and her heart continued to do little flips in her chest.

“Oh trust me. I’m more than prepared. You are going to be hard-pressed to get rid of me for a while.” She couldn’t wait for the day she got to see him again, more than eager to follow through with his promise.

“I love you,” she said again, unable to stop herself. “I love you and I can’t wait until I can hold you again.” She brought the phone up to her face and kissed it, as that was the closest she could get to kiss him.

Rodimus chuckled, returning the screen kiss and smiling warmly at her when he pulled away.

“And I love you, Aqua,” he said softly, “so, _so_ much.”

* * *

Aqua waited in the newly refurbished market square of Radiant Garden, anxiously fidgeting with the hem of her shirt. Her eyes darted around for any sign of Rodimus, either in his holoform or his typical robot-self. Drift had already arrived about 30 minutes earlier in his holoform, unintentionally appearing right behind Terra and scaring the crap out of him. Ventus and Aqua were quickly alerted to Drift’s arrival with Terra’s loud scream and the clanging of a keyblade barely missing its target. Then there was the frantic apologizing from both parties and-

Well. When Ven’s friends arrived, being polite enough to appear outside of the house and knock on the door, it went over much smoother.

Rodimus chose not to use his hologram, otherwise he would’ve already been there, right? So, she mostly kept an eye out for his robot form, but every now and then she’d catch a glimpse of bright red hair and get her hopes up that it was him.

Aqua shifted her weight from one foot to another. She was anxious, that much was obvious. She hadn’t seen him in person in well over a year. Sure, they had called every few days throughout the time they spent apart, but... that was, of course, _very_ different from seeing each other face to face. Her heart longed for him in his absence, almost aching to be near him again. She was eager to hold him in her arms and tell him in person how much she loved him and-

Aqua sighed and sat down at the edge of the giant fountain that had been added to the area fairly recently, unable to stand still much longer. She sighed as she willed her heart to slow. He shouldn’t be too much longer, at least...

As if on cue, the sound of an engine resonated through the air, drawing Aqua out of her thoughts. The sound was rare on this world as most people preferred to walk about the bustling city, and it drew the attention of many others as well. Aqua hopped up on her feet as a rather small car tore around the corner and headed straight for her. It had a very flamboyant paint job that she recognized easily, much to her delight.

A bright smile broke across her face as the car swerved, shifting and transforming into the Rodimus that she knew and loved. He landed on his feet, skidding to a stop a few yards away from her. As soon as he was standing relatively still, Aqua bolted toward him, ignoring the stares of bystanders as she tightly wrapped her arms around him.

She melted at the feeling of his arms returning the embrace with just as much vigor, his nose tucking into the top of her head.

“Oh, Aqua, I’ve missed you so much,” he said breathlessly into her hair. “I’ve missed you, and, and, I love you so much, and, I’m just _so happy to see you_ ,” he babbled, squeezing her a little tighter.

Aqua clung to him almost desperately, her whole body shivering as she leaned her head against the side of his neck. “Oh, Rodimus,” she sighed, eyes squeezing shut as she tightened her hold - she would likely have bruises later on but she didn’t care, they could be easily healed. “I’m so happy to see you too. I... I can’t believe you’re actually here.”

After all that time apart, with the only contact being through her tiny phone screen, to have him here, before her in person, it was... probably one of the happiest moments of her life. It was certainly up there on the list, at least.

“Oh, I love you, I love you, I love you,” she murmured as she pressed her face against the plating of his neck, muffling her voice to the point where he likely couldn’t even hear her anymore.

Rodimus gave her one final squeezing hug before he leaned back, reaching up to carefully cup her cheek. She leaned into the warm metal, gazing into the bright, beautiful eyes that searched her own.

The smile on his face stretched wider, and he kissed her gently on the nose. “Not as much as I love you. I can promise you that much,” he said. “I kinda wish I came in my holoform so I could get here faster, but... well, you fit just fine in my arms like this.”

Aqua let out an amused huff. “No, this is perfect,” she said. “A much better reunion than Drift had with Terra. You should’ve heard the way Terra screeched when Drift appeared behind him.” She let out a small laugh at the memory. Aqua then sighed and turned her head just enough to place a kiss on the palm of his hand.

Rodimus snorted, shaking his head. “Somehow, I’m not surprised. But, I’m glad you don’t mind me looking like... this.”

“Of course I don’t mind!” Aqua said. “This... this is the face that I truly fell in love with.” She leaned up just a bit to place a soft kiss on his cheek, just below one of his eyes. “More than anything, I love you, no matter what form you take. So long as you’re comfortable, I’m happy.”

She then pulled back away from him, so the only contact between them was their hands linked together. “Now, shall I show you around town or...?”

Rodimus nodded, grinning widely at her. “Sure! That sounds good. I have about an hour before I have to size up again, so how we spend that time is completely up to you,” he told her, squeezing her hand gently.

Aqua grinned at the sound of that - he must have been practicing his mass displacement while they were apart!

“Alright!” she said, turning and leading him through the square. “This is the main marketplace - it was just finished being built! This is where most of the major shops on this world are located. We have the moogle shop over there, where you can give them materials to make various items,” she pointed to the shop where a little moogle sat outside, talking to passersby to convince them to go inside. “And of course, there’s a place to buy weapons, a couple of restaurants...”

She took her time leading him down the streets of the town, pointing out various points of interest. Rodimus glanced around, absorbing everything with a small smile. He seemed genuinely interested in learning about this world, even asking some questions of his own as he thought of them.

After a good 15 minutes or so, they made it to the final street in Aqua’s tour - the Borough. “Over there is Merlin’s house,” she said as she pointed at the oddest looking building on the street. While the other houses in the area all looked about the same, this house had an odd-looking tower on the top, the roof of which built to resemble that of a pointy wizard’s hat. “That’s where you can find a lot of my friends when they’re in town. I believe they’re all busy right now, so, unfortunately, introductions will have to wait.”

Aqua then pointed to the house across the street, a somewhat narrow two-story building squeezed between others. “And that’s where I’m staying with Terra and Ven. We travel a lot so it doesn’t get the most use, but... it has a bed and a bath, so it gets the job done.”

Rodimus raised his eyebrows at the humble structure. “I hope you have a garage in the back. I don’t think I can fit in there,” he joked with a small smile. “Kidding, of course. I think I’ll manage.”

“Would you like to go inside?” Aqua offered with a smile that matched his own.

Rodimus nodded. “Of course! As long as I’m not. Interrupting any, umm, _special_ reunions,” he said with a grimace.

Aqua laughed, shaking her head as she led him to the door. “I’m pretty sure they should be gone by now. We all had to leave pretty quickly after Drift arrived, but Terra seemed determined to show him around town while you guys were here.”

She frowned a bit as she gestured for Rodimus to wait a moment just outside the house and quickly walked through the front door, moving towards Terra’s room just to make sure that they were, indeed, gone. His door was wide open and the room was dark and empty.

Aqua smiled before she headed back outside and took hold of Rodimus’ hand. “Alright, we’re good. Come on in!”

He followed her eagerly, nudging the door shut behind him with his foot. As soon as the door was closed, Aqua had her arms wrapped around him again, and he gave a huff of surprise as he returned the embrace.

He took a few moments to look around at the surrounding room. It... wasn’t much, if Aqua was honest, but it was still home to her.

A soft smile blossomed on his face after a few minutes, and he glanced down at her. “I like it. It’s... different to what I’m used to, but it’s nice,” he said, reaching to cup her cheek again.

He looked into her eyes for a moment before continuing in a soft voice. “And... now that we’re definitely alone, it means I can do _this_.”

Aqua sucked in a breath as he leaned down, gently brushing his lips against hers.

She melted into the kiss, her eyes sliding shut as she leaned into the tender touch. He moved his mouth softly, almost carefully, and she could practically feel his love seeping into her where they touched. She tried her best to convey her own feelings as she kissed him back, hoping that he could sense it in return.

It had been _so long_ since their last kiss, and she had yearned for the day she could experience something like this again. Her whole body felt warm and fuzzy as they kissed, her heart fluttering in excitement. It was bliss, and well worth the wait.

When they finally pulled apart, Aqua’s face was flushed a bright pink, eyes sparkling as she met his gaze and beamed up at him. “I love you,” she breathlessly told him, because she just couldn’t get enough of saying it.

Rodimus gave her a wobbly smile in return, his own face a bit flushed as well. The way he was looking down at her at that moment made the whole situation feel real. He was there, in her arms, looking down at her with so much love and adoration, holding her so surely...

He must have felt it too, as a full-frame shudder ran through him and he laughed softly, pulling her into a tight hug again, cradling the back of her head. She tucked her face against his neck, her arms squeezing him reassuringly. 

“I love you too, Aqua,” he told her, his voice filled with static. “I love you so much.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! We hoped you enjoyed reading about our crackships as much as we enjoyed writing it! ❤️


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